


I think I'm lost without you

by GayJ



Category: Home and Away (TV)
Genre: F/F, willex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:21:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 83
Words: 141,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22596991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayJ/pseuds/GayJ
Summary: Ryder runs into a mysterious new person to pass through Summer Bay, we soon learn she has many secrets and is connected to a few of the Summer Bay residents.____________________________________________________________________________I don't want to spoil anything so to find out more you'll just have to read ;D____________________________________________________________________________
Relationships: Willow Harris/Alex Neilson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got inspired a while ago to write this OC character, originally just for myself, I couldn't shake the feeling I needed to put pen to paper and after what we have been through recently with willex I thought it might be nice to upload what I have, I hope this story grabs a few of your hearts.
> 
> The story starts around a month after the siege, I started writing before home and away came back on air so there are a few differences in how certain things pan out but that's for the best in my opinion.

Ryder was walking through the caravan park with his head down trying to get home as fast as he could, the bruise on the side of his face a nasty purple. Not being able to handle everyone’s either incessant questions or the filthy looks people kept giving him he decided to just go home, he had no where else to be anyway. Focused too hard on the ground his shoulder collided with someone, enough force behind him that the both of them went stumbling sideways. Before Ryder could feel the pain the ground would bring a hand flew out and grabbed him.  
“Wow, you’re lucky I’m so quick on my feet” the woman Ryder had accidentally ran into said, with a smirk.  
Panic ensnared Ryder, he didn’t take in the woman’s playful tone, the events of the past month making him assume the worst was about to happen.  
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I didn’t- you were- I wasn’t looking, I-” he couldn’t grasp the right words, he prided himself on being a smooth talker and good with his words, he thought to himself “great, I’ve lost that now too”.  
“Hey, hey just relax man, it’s okay. No harm done.” She touched his shoulder and gave him a warm smile.  
“Why are you being kind to me?” He blurted out.  
The woman looked at him quizzically “I don’t know, I mean, strangers are supposed to be kind to one another right? I can totally be a rude jerk if you’d like? I’ve been told I can be quite scary when I want to be.” She joked. The woman noted he seemed sad. “Alright, name’s Brydee. Now we are close to not being strangers, one step closer to officially being allowed to be a rude jerk.”  
He gave her a sad smile. “Ryder Jackson.” He kept looking at his feet, deep in his thoughts.  
“Hey um.. Are you okay?” she asked.  
“What? Oh, yeah no I’m fine.” He replied  
“Yeah, No.. hm, Does the initial Yeah imply you are fine or does the second No contradict the first Yeah therefor meaning you aren’t in fact fine OR does adding the No just make it Yeah but not wanting to just say Yeah beca-” The woman noticed Ryder was staring at her. “Oh, yeah, my bad, I talk and go on tangents especially when the person I am talking to is clearly not okay but I’m not sure how to approach it so I talk, I guess it's the opposite of a therapist right? They usually remain silent, using the silence to prompt people to talk, makes them uncomfortable see, me talking just becomes too much and people usually-”  
“Okay okay, I’m not okay.. But I really don’t want to talk about it.” Ryder concluded.  
“-Cut me off. Ah, well. Maybe we could get a drink and just go for a walk? We don’t have to talk, sometimes it’s just nice to not be alone.” Brydee offered.  
Ryder took a moment, Grumps had always told him to be polite to new people in summer bay, but, well.. Look at what being nice to Jade had done.  
He sighed “Yeah, sure. The surf club have a juice bar?”  
“Lead the way” She smiled.  
They spent an hour or so walking along the beach and surrounding areas, Ryder actually cracked a smile showing the woman some of the secluded places not even some of the residents of Summer Bay knew about.  
“Oh and across the way over there Raffy, one of my friends, she doesn’t live here anymore, well.. I may have taken one of the boats out for a spin and ah, we found a dead body.”  
Brydee almost choked on her drink. “I’m sorry, you what?”  
“Yeah, we left and I tried to pretend like it didn’t happen but poor Raf started having nightmares. She told her brothers and they went and checked from themselves, they called it in.”  
“Wow, you say it like you see a dead body every other week.” Brydee shook her head in disbelief.  
“Well I guess you just kinda get used to weird things like that happening around Summer Bay, it’s charm can be pretty deceiving.” He smiled at her. “That and my childhood probably makes me react differently, I had night terrors growing up so I am fairly used to not getting sleep. I also have adhd so some things just don’t affect me the same as others.” He shrugged, a small smile on his lips.  
“You’re an interesting kid you know that?” She chuffed.  
His smile dropped. The mood in the air between them shifted, the woman wasn’t sure why. She decided to jokingly poke fun at him. “No no, you are definitely a boring kid. Yeah, nothing special about you at all.” She playful hit his arm.  
Silence once again fell between them. The woman let it be. Ryder sat down on the nearest bench, tears were forming in his eyes.  
“You shouldn’t hang out with me, I’m not a good person.” He stated.  
“Woah hey, we’ve all found a dead body and ran from it once in our life, doesn’t make you a bad person.”  
Ryder looked at the woman dumbfounded. She was still trying to lighten the mood.  
“I was arrested. I was played by a woman I fell for and now my whole life is in shambles. You seem really nice and I’ve had fun but you should know people aren’t my biggest fan at the moment and you won’t want to associate with me” He was panting hard, tears were rushing out before he could stop them. He wasn’t sure why he had blurted it all out to her, maybe a part of him wanted to self sabotage, this woman was being kind to him but it was under false pretenses. Now that she knew the truth she would stop trying to cheer him up.  
She took a deep breath.  
“Okay, let’s start from the beginning. Tell me exactly what happened, don’t leave out any details.”


	2. Chapter 2

The woman found herself back at the surf club, the restaurant Ryder used to work at, Salt, was where she was headed. She made her way upstairs, there was a woman, she looked roughly her age and not wearing the uniform the others had on that were surrounding her. This must be Mackenzie, the owner. The woman continued to scower the room. A young man, he looked to be about Ryder’s age was smiling like a love sick fool at one of the bartenders who had bushy brown hair. A tingle made its way down the woman’s spine, that’s Jade. She could smell the deception all the way from the entrance, how Ryder didn’t see the woman for who she was originally she’d never know.   
The owner approaching snapped the woman out of her thoughts. “Hi, I’m Mackenzie, I’m the owner. Would you like to take a seat, I’ll bring a menu over.” She smiled kindly at the woman. There was something in Mackenzie's eye’s that had the woman confused. She could see the same fire in the woman that she had in her own eyes. Why had she fired Ryder? She knows Jade is to blame, why let the perpetrator win?  
“Here you go, someone will be over to take your order shortly.”  
“Sorry, would you mind, I just wanted to pick your brain about something.” The woman motioned to the seat opposite her, Mackenzie seemed taken aback by the request.   
“Oh, um, of course.” she sat.   
“I do apologize, it seems to be a very small tight nit town and I’m new, I thought, what better way to get to know the ins and outs of a small town than by one of the towns booming business owners, I’m Brydee by the way, Brydee Devin." Brydee smiled at the woman.  
“Well Brydee, it’s nice to meet you, so, what would you like to know?”

The pair spent hours on end talking, laughing, drinking. They had really hit it off.  
“Another round?” Mackenzie suggested.  
“Who could refuse? This ones on me.” She made her way to the bar. Brydee made sure when she asked Jade for drinks that she had her wallet facing the bartender, making it very much known that she had the cash to spend. From the very little information Ryder had to give on the woman, it was more than enough. Jade was after money, from anyone or anything. She was going to be easy. She gave a very generous tip and for good measure added “Hey, uh, do you know if Mackenzie is single?” Brydee was aware that Mackenzie was straight but she needed to place the bait that she was into women. The bright smile Jade flashed her suggested she was definitely about to take the bait. This was going to be good.  
“I’m pretty sure she is in a “it’s complicated” sort of relationship, plus I think she’s straight.. But-” Jade brushed her hand over the other woman's and continued- “I’m very single.” Her words dripped with honey, okay maybe she could see how Ryder fell for it. She was incredibly good at putting it on. If Brydee hadn't set this up she probably would have gone for it.   
“Oh, I thought that sweet young thing over there had your eye?” Brydee noted the very obvious guy watching her every move.   
“World of no. He is… so not my type.” She had this habit of drawing out words in a way to make them sound more alluring. Brydee wasn’t sure at this point whether the woman meant because he was a man or because he didn’t have cash to splash around. Not that it mattered, she was almost positive this woman would go to extreme lengths to get her hands on her cash. Poor Ryder, poor, whoever the heck that other guy is. None of them stood a chance.   
“Well in that case, what time do you get off?”  
Jade looked up into Brydee’s eyes, Jade smirked then cleared her throat. She was clearly trying to stop herself from saying what she really wanted to say.  
“Hopefully in a couple of hours.” Jade winked at her and walked away. Well played.

Brydee made her way back to the table, drinks in hand. Mackenzie had noticed the two talking, she had a look on her face that Brydee read as, you are about to get a talking too.  
Brydee whispered over to Mackenzie “Before you say anything, I am more than aware of that woman. In fact, I would actually like your help with something.” Mackenzie’s jaw opened and shut a few times   
“Go on.” She smirked, crossing her arms.  
“I hear you have a bit of a thief problem and I happen to know a guy. If you give me your consent to do so I could have him come in and set up an undetectable security system while I keep Jade.. preoccupied later.” Brydee suggested. She took note of the gleam in Mackenzie’s eye, that fire she had recognized in herself. She knew she had been right about the woman, she wanted Jade gone, she was just stuck on how to make it happen.  
“You really think she will risk stealing from me again?” Mac sounded doubtful.  
“Absolutely, people like her will never stop. Trust me.”   
“Okay, I’ll shut up and let the others leave earlier if that makes things easier?” Mac suggested.  
“Perfect, I’ll contact my guy and make it happen. We will compile as much evidence as possible over the next few days and hopefully bring her down from multiple angles.” She was buzzing with excitement. It felt good to get back into things.   
Mackenzie eyed the girl “You sound like Colby, you know, if Colby actually did his job.” She huffed.   
Brydee felt her stomach drop. Colby Thorne. River Boy turned Cop. She had tried not to do her research. She knew he was a cop, all of the reports and Ross- fucking Ross. The second he shot Willow he signed his death wish. If Colby hadn't pulled the trigger, she would have. A part of her wonders why she had Colby and that whole case acquitted, was it for Colby or was it really for Willow? Of course the idiot Dean went and told her what had happened, of course he made her an accessory to murder. She would have gone down with them even though she was unconscious with a bullet in her chest. The thought alone made her blood boil.  
“Brydee?” Mac snapped her out of her thoughts.  
“Sorry, I got lost in thought. Between you and me, I’m with the AFP. I have some things I need to take care of here and happened to run into, literally, young Ryder. The poor boy seemed so lost. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out he’s telling the truth.” Brydee had made sure Jade was nowhere in earshot before revealing this to Mackenzie.  
“Wait, this is, you are actually trying to clear his name?” Brydee nodded. “This is great, I felt so horrible-” Brydee lifted her hand.  
“I’m sorry to cut you off but I really shouldn’t be giving out this information, nor should we be talking about it here.” She took a pause. “It’s been a lovely evening Mackenzie, hopefully we have something to celebrate soon.” She winked and got up out of her chair, before she could fully leave Mackenzie blurted out “Mac, call me Mac, all my friends do.” She smiled warmly. “Thank you, Mac.”


	3. Chapter 3

“So, you’re new in town huh?” Jade asked.  
“Yeah, I ah, well my life kinda fell apart on me and I needed to sort some things up this way, so here I am” Brydee decided it wouldn’t hurt to give the woman half truths, her life had fallen apart and she really did need to sort stuff out here.  
“It wasn’t long ago I was the new girl, if you ever need anything..” Jade trailed off.  
They had reached the caravan park now, Brydee decided to go with her gut.  
“Oh I could think of a few things I need, most of which involve you and me in your caravan.” The second the words left her mouth she felt sick. After everything she has been through she was not ready, she should have known she wasn’t. Brydee usually shied away from sex, in fact she wasn’t ever forward about it at all. She didn’t care for sex, sure in the moment it’s nice and for a split second the world becomes still and the millions of thoughts running through her head stayed quiet but for most of her life she had been pretty comfortable just being with herself, she never found the need to add another person into the mix.. That was until, her fiance- she winced- her ex fiance. He was gentle, he was kind and he just got her. He took control when she needed him to and relinquished control when he knew she was up for it. He really was perfect. Pain shot through her, now wasn’t the time, focus. He wouldn’t want you blowing an opportunity to save an innocent man on his account. She sighed, she hadn’t meant to but her emotions got the better of her. It was just sex, plus she didn’t plan on actually going through with it. Maybe she should though, Jade might actually make her forget for a second.  
“You know, usually after someone propositions me like that they don’t usually sigh sounding so upset.” Brydee couldn’t tell at this moment whether the concern she heard in Jade’s voice was real or not. She decided to let her in, besides, in a couple of days this woman would hopefully be out of their lives.  
“My fiance was killed recently. Part of me wants to drown out my sorrows and forget, I thought jumping into bed with you might help but the second those words came out pain just hit me from nowhere.” Brydee watched Jade falter for a moment, so the woman did have a heart.  
“Wow, that’s.. Wow. I’m so sorry.” Jade actually did seem like she was sorry.  
“We are at my van.. I. totally get it if you want to rain check I-”  
Brydee had crashed her lips against Jade’s. She knew it was now or never, it had to be done and she wasn’t going to pussy out, not when an innocent man’s life was about to be ruined.

A familiar sensation washed over Brydee, she had to remind herself that the sensation of being watched was due to her own plan. Her contact had slipped in and planted a phone before heading over to Mac at Salt. He had confirmed with her earlier that he had hacked into Jade’s cloud. All she had to do was upload it when she was good and ready, but first she needed to get evidence of Jade stealing on tape. The feeling of her shirt being tugged pulled her from her thoughts, Jade was trying to take her shirt off. She obliged, Brydee was eerily calm. Maybe because she knew any second that her plan was to freak out and bail or maybe it was because she was in cop mode, she felt in control. She was about to help someone after what felt like a lifetime. It had only been a month since everything fell to pieces, her future ripped from her. They told her to take some time, that she knew as well as anyone that in her current state she shouldn’t be wielding a gun. And they were right, but it didn’t stop the nagging feeling of wanting to help people. It was selfish, to feel alive in this moment. To be joyous at the fact that she would help Ryder, but who could blame her. She had to make it real, Jade was a manipulator, she would smell her bullshit a mile away. So she did the one thing she had been avoiding. She thought of him. One bullet from a traitorous asshole and he was taken from her. She thought of Jai- She felt her heart clench- her twin, he was stolen from her too. It had been 8 yrs. She wasn’t sure that anyone with a twin could ever fully heal from losing theirs. It felt as though someone ripped a part of her from her body.  
“Hey, woah, are you okay.” Jade sounded shocked. Brydee hadn’t even realized her body had gone into a full blown panic attack. Her muscles clenched, she didn’t notice the panic attack until her vision went blurry, she wasn’t breathing. Fuck.  
“Oh god, hey just breathe.” Jade was actually trying to help her. Brydee felt the tiniest bit of guilt flow through her before she lost her balance and everything went black.

“No really, I’m fine. This isn’t necessary.” Brydee almost pleaded. Jade had called an ambulance. Her squad were going to have a field day with this.  
“You full on passed out on me.” Jade stated matter of factly.  
“But an ambulance? Bit overkill.” Jade merely shrugged.  
“Hey is everything okay, what’s going on here?” A woman was approaching the van. Her voice was delicate yet commanding. She was a doctor for sure, Brydee would have put money on it.  
“Dr Neilson, we just got called in, apparently this one fainted du-” The ambo was cut off.  
“We really don’t need to go into details, I had a panic attack. It happens from time to time, usually I have it under control but I slipped up. I’ll be fine, I assure you.” Brydee tried defusing the situation. People had started forming a circle around them, oh god. The last thing she needs is attention. She really didn’t-  
“Baby? What’s going on?” Fuck. She would recognize that voice a mile away.  
Brydee saw her first. She watched Willow’s eyes go wide.  
“B?” Willow barely whispered, not sure if what she was seeing in front of her was real.  
“Can you tell these guys I’m fine? Seriously, I just fainted, I’ll be fine.” Brydee got up and tried to walk off, under estimating just how fine she wasn’t.  
“Woah-” She lost her balance. The doctor and Willow both grabbed her, easing her back to the ground.  
“Just stay seated for a while, until your brain gets it’s bearings again and then we can help you up, okay?” The doctor spoke to her, her words were so kind. Her steely blue eyes were filled with kindness and determination. Willow looked like she had seen a ghost, I guess in a way she had. It had been a long time since they last saw each other.  
“HEY WILL, WHAT’S GOING ON?” Panic shot through her, she had let herself feel too much already today and she was not going to handle seeing Dean on top of everything. She launched up and starting walking off, jelly legs be damned, she would stay up right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to upload these first 3 chapters all at once so the wait for Willow and Alex to properly come into it wasn't too long. 
> 
> x


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair bit of back story in this chapter as well as some character building :D   
> I wonder how many of you know of one of the characters that's referred to

“Hey, hey slow down. Just, hey just, let me help okay, I won’t bite I swear.” The doctor had caught up with her, this woman was adamant about not letting her get away, yeesh. She slowed and let the doctor slink under her arm to hold her upright, she wouldn’t admit out loud just how close to passing out again she was but she gladly took the woman’s support.  
“I’m Alex by the way, Alex Neilson. I’m a doctor, I work at Northern Districts” She smiled at her. The way the moonlight touched her face radiated her smile, it was breathtaking. The doctor shook her. “Hey, breathe.” Brydee internally scolded herself, the woman had literally taken her breath away.  
“Brydee, Brydee Devin. I’m-” Willow had called this woman baby, which is a whole lot to unpack in itself but.. Brydee had to be careful. She didn’t want the Mangrove River trio snooping into her life. They lost that privilege years ago.  
“-I’m here on some business, private.. Stuff.” Wow way to sell it, she thought to herself.  
“I’m guessing you know Willow and Dean then?” Brydee looked at the woman, she was nosy. But it wasn’t in a bad way, she almost found it endearing.  
“Oh, I’m sorry, I have a bad habit of prying. Just, ignore me.” She cleared up.  
“It’s okay, It’s just. History. And I would rather not talk about it, not at this moment anyway. I put myself in a stupid position and ended up fainting because of it. I really don’t want to push myself any more mentally.” Brydee grimaced a smile at Alex.  
“You seem very aware of your mental health and your boundaries and limits. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to why you put yourself in a position you knew would hurt you.” Of course Alex was curious. Brydee chuckled.  
“What?” Alex asked  
“Sorry, you are just doing it again. Except instead of asking out right you are leaving bait for me to take.” Brydee nudged the woman playfully. Alex looked shocked for a moment and laughed with her, she had no idea she had done it.  
“You are close with Willow?” Brydee asked.  
“We’ve been dating for a few months, yeah.” Alex watched the young woman contemplate something. “This shocks you?” She settled on asking.  
“Yeah, I guess it does. I’m not really sure where or what my place is to say about our pasts to be honest. It’s.. We use to be close. But we lost contact a fair few years ago.”  
“Meaning..?” Brydee scoffed, she really was nosy. She knew she was doing it this time though, the way she hung onto the end of the word and made her voice go higher. She was poking fun at herself while also still trying to get answers. The cop in Brydee was impressed.  
Brydee let out a sigh. Okay, she wants to know, here goes.  
“Meaning, I’ve known Willow, Dean and Colby since I was a little girl. We were all close. Willow I was the closest too. I had a massive crush on her.” Brydee smiled to herself. She looked at her feet. “But I’m guessing you kind of figured that already?” She looked up to see Alex lost in thought.  
“My gaydar was pinging, yeah.” Alex nodded and laughed.  
“I’m not sure if she knew and ignored it or whether she was just oblivious. Either way, my friendship to Willow was what was important to me. I wasn’t going to risk losing her over my feelings.” It was Brydee’s turn to get lost in thought.  
“I’m guessing that is exactly what happened?” Alex concluded. Brydee wished that were the case. God would that have been easier.  
“No. My brother went with Dean and Colby in a car chase after Colby’s stepdad who had kidnapped Bella… they crashed and Jai was killed. Colby ran off. Dean was a mess. It took him years to fully recover, most of which he spent in jail for killing Jai. I never really blamed the boys.. At least I thought I didn’t. I blamed Ross. But hearing Dean before I just. I could feel my walls crumbling and I wasn’t ready to face him. Willow, she was devastated. By that point Willow and Dean had been on and off a bunch so when he was hospitalized her whole world surrounded him. I needed her, but she chose to stick by Dean. She didn’t even attend Jai’s funeral. I understand, but at the same time I don’t understand at all. We were family. And A big part of me felt betrayed by them. I was a wreck. I got lucky, I stumbled drunkenly into a fight and a man in uniform had sympathy for me. He put me into his ranks and trained me. Ever since then I’ve been with the AFP..” Brydee went silent.  
“Are you here for them? Willow and the gang?” Alex asked.  
“No, no. I lost my Fiance recently. He was involved with some stuff here. I am just here to.. I don’t even know. Clean things up, I guess.”  
Alex’s face dropped “Oh, I am so sorry.” Brydee watched Alex struggle with something on her mind. She placed her hand on top of Alex’s.  
“Whatever is on your mind, you can tell me, it’s okay.” Brydee reassured her.  
Alex took a deep breath. “I lost a friend, multiple actually, about a month ago. I watched one of them get shot I-” Alex got caught on a sob that wracked her chest. Brydee squeezed her hand.  
“You were involved in the siege then?” She inquired.  
“Yeah, how did you?”  
“It’s my job to know.” She gave Alex a small smile. “How are you? I remember my first siege, of course being on the side which has bulletproof vests and having the choice to be involved is completely different to your experience. But you never quite get over how intense or terrifying the situation is, no matter how many brave officers tell you they are fine, usually, they aren’t. Especially if we lose someone.” Brydee finished.  
Alex went to open her mouth but nothing came out. She closed it and looked off into the distance.  
“Hey, no pressure. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. We all open up or deal with stuff in our own ways. But just so you know, it’s okay to talk. There’s a reason why we officers get psych evaluated after high pressure situations. We try to take on the world's burden and end up crumbling under the weight of it. So I get it. You seem like a strong woman. But it’s okay to not be, even for a moment. Allow yourself that, a moment to grieve, a moment to breathe. Just take a moment to look after yourself, okay?”  
Alex looked into Brydee’s eyes, the intensity at which she held them made the woman nervous, before she could blink the Doctor had tears running down her face. Words of how she felt flooded out and didn’t stop. The weight of the world’s burden finally releasing itself off of the young Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it x

“And on top of that, a couple of days later I lost one of my patients, Robbo.-” Brydee’s arms got goosebumps at the mention of Ryan’s new name. “He was a friend and his wife-”  
“Jasmine.” Brydee interrupted, nodding.  
Alex, looked at her, she nodded. “She works with me, she’s also a friend. It broke me that little bit more. Dealing with what I saw with Mason and then losing Robbo it just became too much.”  
“I’m sorry Alex. That sounds like hell..” Brydee mulled over telling Alex everything. Something about the woman made her want to open up. As if sharing their grief may heal them a little.  
“How much of that story did you know?” She asked instead.  
“Not much, I know Jasmine was in danger. When I first arrived, I found out the woman I was replacing was in protective custody. Jasmine had a bodyguard. Her and Scott were suppose to go to the airport and then Scott got shot and Jasmine was kidnapped, I managed to keep Scott alive until they got the surgeons in. Then Robbo took one of the men who had been brought in as a hostage to get information on Jasmine. It was intense for sure. Apparently it was all connected, the siege and all. To the men who were after Robbo, but he died in a car crash with Scott.” Brydee felt numb.  
“You knew Scott?” She asked Alex.  
“Barely, but enough. He seemed like a nice man, loyal to Jasmine. Such a shame.” Alex shook her head.  
“He murdered my Fiance.” Brydee blurted out. She slapped her hand over her mouth. She had shocked herself, she hadn’t meant to reveal that, nor had she meant to put so much venom into the sentence. Alex looked horrified.  
“What, wha-”  
“You mentioned Jasmine, do you know where she is? I really need to talk to her. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said what I did. Please, don’t mention it to anyone.” Brydee basically begged the woman.  
“Of course not, she should be at the hospital starting her night shift. I can give you a lift if you like?”

Brydee nodded.

Alex pulled into what Brydee assumed was her marked car-park, she went to turn to the Doctor to thank her for giving her a lift and saw the Doctor gripping the steering wheel tightly, her breathing erratic.  
“Alex, remember earlier, you told me to breathe yeah?” Brydee tried snapping her out of her thoughts.  
“What? oh, yeah.” She took a deep breath. “Sorry, it’s just..” she trailed off.  
“It’s hard.” Brydee nodded knowing the Doctor suffered trauma that day.  
“Yeah, I’m sorry, it’s lame.” Alex shook her head, Brydee thought to herself that it wasn’t her Alex was trying to half halfheartedly apologize too, Alex was ashamed, at what exactly Brydee wasn’t sure.  
“It’s not lame Alex, you went through a traumatic experience. No matter what you are feeling, it is the opposite of lame. I get the feeling like you deflect a lot huh? You don’t have to. I get it. I see shitty stuff all the time. You’re a doctor, which I’m guessing is why you think you need to keep it together, but it should be the reason you give yourself a break and let yourself fall apart. Whether it takes a few months or a few years, you are allowed to feel this Alex. It’s human nature” Brydee reached out and squeezed her arm.  
“I should be strong. Everyone else, I mean Willow was such good friends with Mason.” Alex tears started flowing again.  
“Hey, Mason, he was a doctor yeah? You said you were friends with him?”  
Alex sniffled and nodded.  
“Do you think he would judge you? Assume you need to be strong?”  
“No, he was probably the least judgmental person I had ever met. He knew about Willow and I before anyone else. He just knew. He saw it and-” The sound that came from Alex broke Brydee’s heart. She clearly cared about Mason and was denying herself grief because she thinks she doesn’t deserve it. Brydee grabbed Alex’s phone, the last thing Brydee wanted was to talk to Willow but she needed to see where she was at with Mason’s death. Brydee didn’t mind being a rock for Alex but she wasn’t sure the little she devil Bella would appreciate her being friendly. She always was possessive. She grabbed Willow’s number and sent her a text asking to meet up tomorrow. For now Alex was her priority.  
“Alex?” Brydee kept her voice low and calm. Alex looked over at her, puffy eyed.  
“We don’t have to go in if you don’t want to.” Brydee gave her a small smile.  
“I work here, I force myself every day. It’s no biggy. I just need a moment is all.” Alex had grabbed a tissue and was trying to clean up her face.  
Alex was a strong woman, anyone could tell you that. She was also stubborn, she would never ask for help because she doesn’t know how. She has always been the rock. How exhausting that must be. Brydee decided she wasn’t going to give her the option of asking. She hopped out of the car ran around to Alex’s side and held out her hand to the Doctor.  
“You don’t have to do this alone Alex. It’s okay to need help. Take as much or as little as you need from me, but I’m here and I’m sure there are plenty of people in Summer Bay who are prepared to be there for you.” Alex took her hand.  
“It isn’t me though, I don’t… know how.” Alex sighed, she looked so lost.  
“You just have to ask and have faith that the people who love you will be there to support you. Baby steps yeah? For now, you just have to put up with me, you don’t have to ask, I’m just going to be pushy and annoying until you get sick of me and go ask someone else for help, sound good?” Brydee smiled at the woman. Alex laughed.  
“Why?” Alex asked, she barely whispered it.  
“Why what?”  
“Why do you want to help, why are you being so kind, we only met a couple of hours ago. Apart from you knowing Willow, we are strangers.”  
“But that’s it isn’t it? We are basically strangers. That’s why people have an easier time opening up to therapists, they are strangers. There isn’t the same amount of pressure to be held together. They are there because they know you need help. And no offence Alex, but you definitely need some help. Counseling would be ideal and my number one recommendation but I get the feeling like you aren’t about to go and do that are you?” Brydee gave Alex a knowing look.  
Alex sighed. “No, I’m not. Even if I wanted to, I just don’t think I am ready? I don’t know, I’m just being..” she waved her hands around shrugged not knowing how to finish her sentence.  
“That’s okay, I remember my first trip, it’s definitely not an easy thing to do. Especially if you like to keep control. Which I do. It’s hard to relinquish.” Alex looked at Brydee like she had hacked some secret code.  
“I never really gave much thought into control. I guess I do struggle to let go of it.” Alex nodded to herself.  
“In your own time, you’ll find a way to help yourself. Like I said, in the meantime, I am here to lean on, got it?” Brydee squeezed her hand and looked over at the hospital. Alex looked between the woman and the hospital.  
“Got it.” She squeezed back.  
“So, how do you want to do this, we could walk up until a certain area, if the panic gets too much we can back up. Or we could I don’t know, run screaming at the doors like lunatics and hope the energy and idiocy of the scene will be enough to distract you-” Brydee saw the mortified look on Alex’s face. She decided to roll with it.  
“You’ve seen F.R.I.E.N.D.S right? We can do the Phoebe run and everything. Make a skeptical out of i-”  
“Are you being serious or joking?” Alex blatantly asked.  
“Both. I mean at the end of the day, whatever works right? I’m not here to judge you. Plus you won’t be alone in embarrassment. I’ll be right there with you.” Brydee gave Alex the biggest cheeky grin she could muster. Alex looked like she was either about to burst out laughing or thump her one.  
“Maybe we just take the quiet less obscene route this time around?” Alex offered.  
“Okay but if this goes bust?”  
“Fine we will act like idiots.” Alex gave in. Brydee cheered.  
Alex took a deep breath. “Okay, it’s not that far, we can do this.. Right?”  
“Yes, I could ramble on about nonsense if it will make things easier?” Brydee suggested.  
They started walking hand in hand.  
“Sure, distract, yes please.”  
“Okay so this one time back when we were like 8, keep in mind that I’m pretty sure Dean and Colby were aware of my crush on Willow, Jai, my brother, he would try and make me jealous by putting his arm around her and acting all cute and Colby and Dean would make kissy faces at me because boys are weird. So one day I had had enough of my brother being a smug prick and the boys teasing me so I told Willow that they had all been picking on me the night before, I think we crashed on Dean’s couch that night I can’t remember. Anyway, Willow and I went full on guerrilla style, we put mud on our cheeks like bad asses and stuck leaves and what not in our hair to hide ourselves in the bushes. We knew eventually they would get bored without us and would come searching. We waited them out, Colby got closest to us, we tackled him and shoved leaves in his mouth and told him to keep quiet. The boys soon realized one of their men had fallen, you could see the look of terror on their faces, ah it was priceless. Colby got sick of being held prisoner and offered to turn traitor, he snuck his way through the bush around the back of them and made noises to draw their attention. What happened next, oh my god it was just gold-” Brydee was telling the story very animated, Alex was hanging onto each word. “What? What happens next?!” Alex exclaimed. Brydee turned to Alex and pointed at the door in front of them, they had made it all the way to the door. Alex burst out laughing, she had been so captivated.  
“Now, if you will accompany me through those doors I shall grace you with the ending.” Brydee smirked. She knew any story with Willow would catch her attention, especially one from their childhood.  
They made their way inside, Alex had gripped her hand a lot tighter, she would have laughed if it wasn’t for the fact that she thought her hand might actually fall off.  
“You better keep your word.” Alex stated.  
“Why of course Doctor Alex.” Brydee said in the most obnoxious stuck up fake voice she had ever heard. Alex rolled her eyes.  
“Okay so Jai and Dean had their backs to Willow and I now, I lined myself up perfectly behind Jai, Willow made a bird sound and I grabbed Jai’s shirt and pulled him into the bushes with us, he screamed and Dean, who had witnessed his friend be alien pulled into the bushes, scurried up the closest tree, refusing to come down.” Brydee was laughing hard. Alex looked impressed.  
“If this was jeopardy the question would be “Dean broke his arm for the first time, how?” Brydee almost cackled out.  
“Oh my god, he broke his arm?!” The Doctor was barely keeping herself contained.  
“Yeah he refused to come down, eventually he fell asleep and what do you know he tumbles down to the ground. We told Karen the story she loved it, said it was worth the broken bone for the memories it would create. Bit of a weird woman but hey, it got you through the door, guess it counts for something.” Brydee shrugged grinning.  
“Yeah, it definitely does. Thank you, seriously it means a lot that you helped me, I didn’t realize just how much I needed someone there with me.” Alex smiled warmly at her.  
“You’re more than welcome, and any time you need me, I’m a call away. Seriously, I have more stories up my sleeve. Plus at least once we need to run in screaming utter nonsense.” Brydee squeezed her hand before letting go. She looked off into the distance down the halls.  
“Is everything okay?” Alex asked.  
“Hm? Oh yeah everything is fine. I’m just not sure I want to talk to Jasmine just yet. Why ruin a good mood you know?” Brydee admitted.  
“I can come with you if you like? You were there for me.” Alex stated matter of factly.  
“Thanks, it’s.. Not going to be an easy conversation so I best do it alone, I’m not sure it’s fair on Jasmine to bring someone else into it. But thank you though.”  
“How about I walk you to her? I get the feeling like you don’t really want to put it off but are just afraid. Which I totally get.” Of course Alex understood. She didn’t want to stop coming into save people’s lives but walking through that door was extremely hard for her.  
“Sure, I’d appreciate that.”


	6. Chapter 6

“That’s her there, in the green scrubs.” Alex pointed at the young woman, she looked like hell.  
“Thanks Alex, you don’t have to stick around I’ll just uber back or something.”  
“It’s okay, I’m just going to go over a few of my notes, come and find me when you’re done?”  
“Yeah, sure.” She smiled back at Alex, which turned into a grimace when she realized exactly what she was about to do.  
As she approached Jasmine the young nurse jumped slightly. “Oh, do you need to see a doctor? You look a bit frazzled. Just go to the triage around the corner they can help you out-”  
“Actually, I’m here to see you.” Brydee cut in.  
“Oh-”  
“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have cornered you at your place of work but I really needed to get this conversation over and done with. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?” Brydee asked.  
“Um, yeah hold on I’ll just find a free room.” She took off around a corner, almost running straight into Alex. They spoke for a minute before Jasmine waved her over.  
“Through here, Alex said we could use her office.”  
The words Alexandra Neilson were displayed on the front of the door, they made their way in.  
Jasmine took a deep breath. “Okay so what’s this about exactly?” she asked.  
“You might want to sit down.” Brydee motioned to the chairs. “I’m just going to cut straight to it because I don’t have the energy to sugar coat any of it.” Brydee looked at her, Jasmine nodded.  
“My name Is Brydee Devin.” She watched Jasmine’s head tilt. “Yeah, you may have heard my name in conversation at some point. I’m an AFP officer, at one point I trained under Ryan Shaw but the main reason I am here right now is because of my Fiance. Lance Salisbury. Well, Ex now, sorry, I’m still getting used to that.” Brydee sighed.  
“Robbo never mentioned Lance being engaged.” Jasmine whispered.  
“That’s because he didn’t know. No one knew, except Lance’s parents. Once the Ouroboros case came to a close he was going to tell Ry-Robbo about us. I think he knew we had been seeing each other but for the most part Lance kept things quiet. We both knew how risky this case was.” Brydee pinched her nose. She had to keep it together. She wasn’t the only one suffering.  
“I’m so sorry.” Jasmine’s voice broke pulling Brydee from her thoughts.  
“As am I” She sighed. “I need to sort a few things out but I wanted you to have all the information.”  
“I knew it. Colby told me there was no connection but there was, wasn’t there?” Brydee watched as Jasmine’s pain and anger came flooding out.  
“Yes. I believe, knowing Robbo that he asked you to leave so he could give details to Colby. Details that he then passed along the AFP. Don’t blame Colby too harshly, he was just trying to respect a dying mans wishes.” Brydee grimaced.  
Jasmine looked at her desperately. “Tell me, please.”  
“They got to Scott. They had his girlfriend and kid followed, they were threatening him. He knew about the siege, he told Robbo that once he had taken care of him it would all be over. You would be safe. Robbo never fully believed that, he asked Colby to take care of you. But your testimony falls apart without Robbo, you only know Des, not Victor so you are no longer a threat. Or so goes the story, I don’t think anyone is truly safe until those scum are put away. I believe Robbo also thought that way. From Colby’s statement we know Robbo convinced Scott to back down but on the way back to the hospital to help Scott panicked. He purposely ran the car off the road.”  
“I don’t believe it, Scott, he was such a good man.” Jasmine was looking at her hands in disbelief.  
“He was the man who killed Lance.” Brydee got the words out calm this time unlike when she told Alex. Jasmine looked shocked.  
“I- oh my god. No.” Jasmine had started crying now. “That bastard.” Jasmine spat.  
“What I hate more than anything is that I know Lance would have tried to see it from his side, tried to reason with what Scott did. But all I wish is that I could get my hands on him so I could make him feel what I feel. Maybe it’s a good thing he died, that way I won’t disappoint Lance even more than I’m going too.” Brydee sniffled.  
Jasmine pulled her chair closer to Brydee’s, she took her hand and they sat there for some time, no words passing between them but a quiet understanding of the days to come.

They had made their way back to the caravan park, Brydee had successfully grabbed the phone. She was going to have to do some heavy editing seeing as the recording would have gone until the phone died now but overall she was happy with how the night had turned out. She didn’t expect to find a friend in Alex, especially seeing as she is dating Willow. Actually, Brydee was rather confused as to why she didn’t straight up dislike the woman. She guessed that at the end of the day as long as Willow was happy, she was happy. Plus, unlike all of Willow’s ex's, Alex seemed like a genuinely lovely person.  
She checked her phone after leaving the hospital, she had a message from Mac letting her know that things went smoothly with her contact and that she heard about Brydee fainting and mildly made fun of her, she was starting to really like Mac. And one message back from Willow, offering to meet up for breakfast. Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys finally get to see Willow and Brydee together, eeeee

The hotel room bed was horrible, hopefully she could tie up everything and be out of there before she did serious injury to her back. Willow had said to meet her at salt around 7, she was hoping that Jade wouldn’t be there. Although she didn’t care about her in the slightest, she felt incredibly embarrassed that she fainted on the woman. On top of facing Willow for the first time in nearly 8 years, she just didn’t need that sort of pressure. 

She found Willow out at one of the outside tables, Mac got her attention before she walked out to her. She made her way up to the bar.  
“So, correct me if I’m wrong but did you ask Jade if I was single last night? Trying to make a move, huh?” Mac winked at her.  
“You know full well I was planting bait for Jade to take, get off that high horse of yours.” Brydee poked back. She really did enjoy the woman’s company.  
“Well I don’t know, with how my love life has been lately, who knows. Willow seemed to find luck in a woman, maybe I will too.”  
“Yeah but I’m pretty sure you actually have to like women, I mean don’t get me wrong I am amazing but you know, it helps if you find me desirable.” Brydee laughed as Mac looked her up and down. They both burst into laughter. Brydee was surprised at how easy it was to have a laugh with Mac, Jade had droned on and on about how uptight the woman was.  
“If you are keen maybe we could go out for some drinks, maybe find you someone to have a bit of fun with?” Brydee suggested.  
“Mmm, sounds like a fantastic idea, hopefully it’ll make Colby jealous enough to actually pay me attention.” Mac said, rolling her eyes.  
“Men, huh. Anyway better not keep Willow waiting.” She made her way over to the table.

“Hey” Willow said shyly as she approached.  
“Hey.” Brydee scolded herself, she grew up with this person and all she could form was “Hey”.  
Willow laughed. “You still do that.”  
“Do what?” Brydee asked.  
“You scrunch your face up when you get annoyed at yourself.” Willow replied easily.  
“Yeah, I just thought I would have more than just a hey in return.”  
“It’s hard to know where to start.” Willow said.  
“Actually if you wouldn’t mind, could we skip our stuff, put it on the back burner until after. I wanted to talk to you about some more recent stuff.”  
“Oh, yeah sure of course. Is everything okay?” Willow asked sincerely.  
“No, it’s not.” Brydee replied disappointingly.  
Willow let out a deep breath. “Okay, hit me with it.”  
“The reason I’m here is because of Jasmine. Well not entirely Jasmine but everything surrounding her.” Brydee was trying to ease her way into it.  
“You know about that?” Willow looked extremely confused. Of course, she had no idea she was an AFP officer.  
“I knew Lance, he mentioned he had met you.” She smiled at Willow  
“Yeah, he was a great guy. I got way too drunk that night. It’s a shame he was killed.” Willow looked down at her water.  
“Yeah, we were engaged..” Brydee let the words trail off.  
Willow looked up into her eyes. “But I thought you were gay?” Her question came out almost like childish wonder.  
“Love is love. I don’t usually go looking for it and if I was to go looking, yeah I would probably look for a woman but Lance was different. I guess I identify more as pansexual. I think Lance has been the only man I have ever really felt attraction for. One of his junior officers told me the word I might also identify with is demisexual. Not sure if you’ve heard of it. But I have to say it did strike a chord with me when I read up about it. But none of this is important, labels don’t really suit me to be honest. I am who I am, fuck the labels.” Brydee said proudly.  
“I like that, fuck the labels. I’ve never been able to answer how I identify. Right now it’s just Alex and I’m okay with that.” Willow was more talking to herself than Brydee at this point, she had to admit she was proud of the woman sitting in front of her. Both women smiled at each other.  
“I know things are about to get heavy, but, I really missed talking to you. I forget how well we just.. Got each other.” Willow said quite vulnerably.  
“I know, it feels like it was just yesterday.” Brydee sighed. “Right, back into things. This next bit of information is sensitive, only a handful of people know so I need you to keep it that way, okay?” Willow nodded.  
“It was Scott, he shot Lance. He was forced to kill Robbo too. He was going to go about it by other means but he wanted to take himself out in the end too so he crashed the car on purpose. They had his girlfriend and kid being followed.”  
“What? Does Jas know?” Willow asked.  
“I told her last night. Listen the only reason I’m telling you all this is so you aren’t kept in the dark if things go wrong-”  
“What do you mean? If what goes wrong?” Willow’s voice crept higher.  
“Willow please keep your voice down. I have some things I need to take care of, hopefully after that I’ll be out of here. That’s also what I wanted to talk to you about-”  
“Hold on, slow down. First of all, how are you doing? Really? Cause you kind of just glossed over your Fiance being killed. Secondly, you aren’t planning anything stupid are you?”  
“I’m devastated. Lance was everything ya know? But I’m used to this kind of pain. I guess after losing a twin it prepares you for this.” Brydee saw Willow wince. “Secondly, even if I was, I couldn’t tell you that. Now back to what I was saying-”  
“Ladies, what can I get you?” Mackenzie swooped in.  
“You have amazing timing.” Brydee groaned.  
“Your shout right?” Willow asked feigning an innocent smile.  
“Sure, just bacon and eggs thanks Mac.”  
“Pancakes, Canadian style please.” Willow smirked over at Brydee.  
“I wanted to ask you about Mason.” Brydee said carefully.  
Willow paused. “What do you mean?”  
“You were good friends with him right? He was killed about a month ago. I’m just wondering how you are. It isn’t easy losing someone you care about.” Brydee stated sadly.  
“No, it’s not been easy. I keep expecting him to stroll into the gym with his swagger walk and it hurts to think about.” Willow looked at the ground.  
“Alex is hurting too. I’m worried about her.” Brydee tried to be direct but gentle.  
“Oh, she mentioned you helped her with some stuff last night. I take it there was more to it than she let on?” Willow asked.  
“I’m not sure it’s my place to tell you what she said to me, the reason I asked to meet up was because I offered to be there for her. I’m not sure if she’s too afraid to ask for help or if she is just stubborn or maybe doesn’t know how. Either way, I offered to be there. I figure if both of you lost a friend it would be hard relying on each other yeah?”  
“Yeah, Alex deals with things by not really dealing with them. I started off trying to make sure she was okay to distract myself I think. After a while, we just stopped trying to help each other and dealt with it our own way, which isn’t a bad thing. I know couples should-” Willow sighed.  
“Hey, you don’t have to explain yourself to me or anyone for that matter. It isn’t a bad thing, you are allowed to be your own person Willow. And hey, I’m also here for you too okay?” Brydee reached over and squeezed Willow’s arm.  
“You lost your Fiance and you want to be there for us?” Willow looked at her like she was crazy.  
Brydee shrugged. “It’s different. Plus, I plan on doing what I need to do to help me move on. I think Alex needs someone to just.. Let loose on? And I think she is too afraid to do that with anyone she actually cares about. But, I know Bella never really took a liking to me and that whole thing with Dean-”  
“Yeah, I get what you are saying. It’s okay, you’re right and if this benefits Alex then I’m happy. Don’t worry about Bella, I trust you.” Willow stated firmly. 

The girls ate their breakfast in silence, neither sure how to bring up what they both knew they needed to talk about.  
“B..” Brydee flinched at the mention of her old nickname.  
“Nobody really calls me that any more, it’s weird hearing it again. It seems almost foreign to me now.”  
“Well I’ve always been way more than a nobody.” Willow smiled at her. “If Brydee is easier I can do that.” Willow offered. Brydee nodded, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She started fiddling with her left overs.  
“I’m sorry.” Willow continued. “I made a lot of bad choices back then and I’m not proud of them. It didn’t occur to me how much I hurt you until recently. Trying to find time to be there for everyone after Mas and Robbo, it really put into perspective how lousy a friend I was. I can’t take back the choices I made but I want you to know I’m a better person now than I was back then.” Willow rushed the words out.  
Brydee took a moment to take in what she had said. “Why didn’t you attend the funeral?” Brydee tried to keep her voice stable.  
“Back then things were always black and white, I was so used to dealing with Dean and his reactions to things that I didn’t think choosing to be by Dean’s side and attending the funeral were both an option. I figured you hated me for being by Dean’s bedside. That wasn’t fair on anyone, especially not you, or Jai.”  
“I understood why you needed to be with him. You loved him and he could have died. I never would have judged you or made you feel like you had to choose, you should have known that.” Brydee let a tear fall down her face.  
Willow reached out and grabbed the woman's hand. “I do know that, I should have known it back then and I’m sorry for doubting you. I’m ashamed of who I was, I haven’t even told Alex our history. We were best friends and I let you down, I thought I would have time to make it up to you but before I came back to reality you had left. Why did you leave?” Willow sounded like a hurt child, it pulled at Brydee.  
“I was spiraling, ended up in a bar fight and the guy that pulled me out of it gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Before I knew it, I was moving to a completely new place and essentially a new life. You choosing Dean and not attending the funeral, I just sort of figured I didn’t have anything left for me in Mangrove River.” Brydee shrugged. “We both could have handled things better I guess.”  
“I didn’t mean to choose Dean. I.. sometimes I wonder, ever since I met Alex I think back on our friendship. We were so close, I adored you and I think the feeling was mutual.” Willow suggested, Brydee laughed.  
“Yeah you could say that.”  
“As innocent little kids our friendship made sense but as we got older I guess I felt pressured into having that sort of relationship with a boy. At the time though, it just sort of happened, I don’t remember thinking “this is wrong” I think it was more I noticed all the other girls going after boyfriends so it just seemed the normal thing to do. I was oblivious, even at 26 when Alex kissed me I was completely shocked and originally denied me being into her. God what an idiot.” Willow confessed.  
“You’re not an idiot and I hope you don’t feel bad about being oblivious. We were kids, yeah I was sure of how I felt about you but I understood it wasn’t society’s version of normal. I was more than happy just being your friend, plus relationships and commitment have never really been my thing.” Brydee shrugged trying to ease Willow’s mind.  
“And yet you were engaged to Lance?” Willow teased.  
“Lance was different. He was the first person to ever really get me, I could be completely open with him and not feel judged or scared to admit the truth. It felt natural to commit the rest of my life to him and whatever the future held.” Brydee admitted.  
“...I got you.” Willow barely whispered.  
“I know. You were my best friend, I’d hope so.” Brydee laughed, she wasn’t sure she was all that ready to deep dive into the past and all the feelings.  
“You still are, at least I hope you still can be?” Willow asked, she had hope in her eyes.  
“Part of me is scared, I know I could have tried harder to fix things but it was easier to let the past be. I had a future to look forward to in the first time in forever. I would have given anything to get Jai back but once I realized I couldn’t, moving on was the only option.” Brydee concluded.  
“It was the easy option.” Willow took a jibe at her.  
“You say that now but did you ever try looking for me?” Brydee was trying her best to keep a level head, she knew talking everything out could end in disaster, they were both angry at each other over old mistakes and she wouldn’t take crap sitting down.  
“No I-” Willow faltered, she looked on the verge of tears. Without blinking Brydee swallowed her pride and moved around to hug the woman.  
“It’s okay, why don’t we just agree we hurt each other and promise to do better from now on, yeah?” She offered.  
Willow held onto the other woman for a short while, getting her breathing back in order.  
“I would like that, I do want to keep talking I just needed a moment. It’s hard to think back on that time. It wasn’t just you I ended up leaving. After a while I left Dean too and Colby was nowhere to be seen. We all went our separate ways.” Willow sniffled.  
“And fate seems to have brought us back together.” Brydee smirked and ducked out of the road of the hand she knew was coming for her.  
“Shut-” Willow missed “Ugh you are so annoying. You know I don’t believe in fate.” Willow huffed.  
“I know, but you have to admit it’s no coincidence we all found our way back. I-” Brydee noticed Willow’s face go into complete shock. “Will? Hey, what’s wrong?”  
“Nothing I just, there’s things you need to know. I’m not sure it’s going to be a happy reunion.” Willow confided.  
“Dean’s.. It’s going to be hard, I know.” Brydee admitted.  
Willow shook her head. “No it’s, it wasn’t-” Willow was stuck on her words. She took a deep breath.  
“It wasn’t just Dean, Colby was there too. In the car, he was the reason they stole it. They were chasing Ross.” Willow blurted out.  
“I know.” Brydee nodded.  
“And I get that you are going to hate Colby, I know I did but it- wait what? What do you mean you know?” Willow demanded.  
“I was there when they came to get Jai. I-” Brydee started choking up, she couldn’t talk about this. Not right now. “I know, Will. That's all that matters.” Brydee was confused, she shook her head.  
“I thought you all would have figured that by now. I mean, I had you all acquitted for christ sake! Why would I do that if I hated them?” Brydee forgot all about trying to keep a level head, she had jumped up out of her seat and started throwing her arms wildly.  
Willow sat staring at her, mouth agape in total shock.  
“No. No I blame that low life of a scumbag Ross” -Brydees fist connected with the railing- “for what happened to Jai. After everything he had done he went and took him from me! I’m glad that asshole is in the ground, he should be thankful it wasn’t me who found him.” Brydee spat out. Almost everyone in Salt had stopped what they were doing to watch the commotion happen outside. Willow was still in shock at her outburst when Mac appeared from behind them.  
“Is everything okay here?” Mac touched Brydee’s shoulder.  
Shame washed through the woman. “Yes, I’m sorry.” She looked between the two women. “Truly, I didn’t mean to snap. I should go.” Before Willow or Mac could say another word Brydee had legged it out of there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hats off to anyone who noticed the nod to wentworth in that chapter :)


	8. Chapter 8

Willow burst through Colby’s door and almost crashed into Dean.  
“Woah, Willow chill, what’s going on?” He asked.  
“It’s Brydee-” Willow was panting.  
“Ah, so that was who I thought it was last night.” Dean interrupted.  
Colby looked between the two. “Clearly I’m missing something.”  
“Last night doesn’t matter. Listen we tried clearing the air just now and it was going well, sort of until it wasn’t. She was calm until she brought up Ross.” Willow looked between the two boys, they gave each other looks of guilt.  
Willow continued. “She said she didn’t blame either of you-”  
“I completely forgot she knew I was involved” Colby butt in, shaking his head. Willow was getting tired of the interruptions.  
“Can you just stop for a second and let me get everything out, please?” She snapped.  
“Right yeah sorry, go ahead.” Colby replied.  
“She knows about Ross. I don’t know how, she started yelling and she mentioned having us acquitted? What does that even mean exactly?” Willow asked.  
Dean was looking at Colby, who was sitting there completely stunned.  
“Mate?” He tried to Get Colby’s attention  
“I.. I don’t know, we need to go-” Colby was grabbing his jacket and keys.  
“Go where, Colby slow down, tell us what’s going on.”  
“We need to check if his body is still there.” Colby said.  
Willow and Dean froze. “Why wouldn’t it be?!” Dean was panicking.  
“How could she acquit us for a crime no one knows about?” Colby threw back at him.  
“Think about it Dean, she-” Colby paused. “I need to make a phone call.” He finished.  
Dean and Willow shared looks of horror.  
“Sergeant McCarthy, I need a favour, yeah, it’s important. I need a nation wide search on the name Brydee Devin. It doesn’t matter. No. It’s more than likely she’s in our system as one of us. Yeah, thanks.” Colby hung up the phone.  
“You think she’s a cop?” Dean asked in disbelief.  
“And fairly high up too, getting someone acquitted for murder isn’t an easy task.” Colby said.  
“It would make sense.. She said she was engaged to Lance.” Willow said. The boys stopped in their tracks.  
“Wait, what?” They both said in unison.  
“Yeah, she didn’t mention being a cop but she talked about Lance before things blew up. She also mentioned having to take care of something. Oh and er you might not want to be around when Jas gets home. She told her everything she knew.” Willow finished.  
“Dammit.” Colby pinched his nose. “Okay let's go, we may as well go and check the site.”  
“Are we sure that’s a good idea mate? Wouldn’t it be better if we just go ask her?” Dean offered, for once, something smart.  
“I agree, it would be foolish to go to where you buried him, what if someone is watching or waiting for you to lead them there?” Willow also really didn’t want to see a dead body today.  
“What do you want me to do, waltz up to a woman I’m sure holds resentment against me and kindly ask her “Hey quick question, did you happen to find the dead body of my half sisters dad who I may have shot in the head after he kidnapped my family?” ‘Cause I’m not sure how well that would go over.” Colby huffed out in frustration.  
“Well no, not in that many words.” Willow tried to ease the tension.  
Colby flew out the door with the two others in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters today cause I'm just that nice ;D


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants to listen along to what I listened to/inspired by while writing the story in this chapter : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kn6qzFQ4Vg and then https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZnBNuqqz5g for good measure.
> 
> Two very different version but you get the gist. If I could mash them together I would.

In her frustration Brydee had taken off onto the beach, her legs seemed to have a mind of their own, she saw “Caravan park this way” and had a feeling she knew where she was headed.  
“Heey!” Brydee whipped around at the sound of the voice. When Alex realized she had gotten the woman's attention she stopped and put her hands on her hips, knelt over breathing tremendously. Brydee tried to contain her laughter.  
“Are you okay?” Brydee asked.  
Alex took in a few gulps of air before she answered. “Yeah, totally. I love going for runs on the beach are you kidding?” Alex tried to smile through the pain.  
“Haha okay yeah, no you definitely look like a runner, why are you running anyway?”  
“I saw you run out of the surf club, Willow came down after you and she asked me to come and check on you she said something about needing to talk to Colby, I dunno I tend to just nod and smile when it looks as though a “family crisis” is going on so I didn’t catch what exactly. You had a head start on me and apparently can walk waay faster than me so I ended up having to run. Thank you, by the way. I won't have to run for like, a year after that.” Alex smiled at her and then decided the sand was the best place to lay down and recover. Brydee found the way Alex spoke to be enrapturing. The way she spoke higher on certain syllables to emphasis what she was saying fascinated her. She could tell why Willow fell for her, Alex was just so… cool.  
“Were you popular in school?” Brydee blurted out.  
Alex looked at her with amusement. “No, why do you ask?” Alex chuckled.  
“I’d tell you but you might get a big head, so I’m guessing you were the standard nerd then, Doctor Alex.” Brydee sat down next to her and flashed a devilish grin.  
“Well I am a doctor, we do our job mostly without getting big heads so I think I could handle it and yeah, mega nerd right here. Was very much study focussed throughout school, I had to be.” Alex finished.  
“I was never a big fan of school, I picked all the physical classes so that helped me graduate.”  
“Favourite classes?” Alex asked.  
“Does lunch count?” They both laughed. “I guess music? My brother and I both enjoyed it, he was amazing at violin my poison was the piano. They compliment each other well, I remember the guy who owned the local pub, he would, well Jai and I were basically homeless so he always made sure we had a hot dinner and company. Unless of course one of our friends parents invited us over, some nights it was nice to not feel like a burden though. Max, the pub owner, he always made Jai and I feel welcomed.” Brydee shook her head. “Anyway, one day we walk into the pub and sitting there is a beaten down piano, the school let the kids take their Violins home with them but for obvious reasons not a piano so Jai and I were finally able to jam out together outside of school. I kicked up a fuss about Max not spending money on me and he told me that it was cheap because it had some keys broken and some of the boys pitched in to either help fix it or buy parts for it. They told us the only repayment they wanted was for Jai and I to play for them when we had the chance. The second it was fixed and ready to go Jai and I had planned out what we wanted to perform. So 7 o’clock rolls around it’s a Friday night so the pub is bustling and we were telling the local boys who had helped fix it that we had our piece ready to go and they started hollering asking to play it for them now and I instantly wanted to throw up, it was so busy and I didn’t want to scare the customers away but Max assured us that if anyone didn’t enjoy it, they could hit the road. Jai could tell how nervous I was so he got the boys to call Willow, Colby and Deans parents to drop them in for support and the next thing I know Jai and I are performing Bohemian Rhapsody and I shit you not the whole Pub started belting it out along with us. It was one of the best nights of my life.” Brydee chuckled to herself. She got lost in thought for a moment and a tear slid down her cheek.  
Alex squeezed her hand. “I’m sure it would have been a night to remember, I wish I could have seen it. You’ll have to play for me one time.” Alex smiled at her reassuringly.  
“I haven’t played since Jai actually. I guess I kind of just… lost my muse.” She smiled sadly at Alex and shrugged.  
“Do you miss it? Playing, that is.” Alex asked.  
“Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes I can go months without thinking about playing and then all of a sudden I get some form of inspiration or I get lost in a moment..” Brydee trailed off.  
“Hey, one day, you’ll find your muse again. Plus I need to know if you are any good or not.” Alex winked at her.  
“Wow okay, I’ll have you know I am world renowned.” Brydee lied.  
They both laughed.  
“I have a few pieces that Jai and I recorded, not full pieces it’s just snippets. There’s a song I wrote actually that uses his recording. That’s.. After I wrote that and put it together it just sort of broke me. I was so happy at what I had created and I jumped up in excitement and my first thought was to tell Jai and it shattered me. The thought of feeling that again made the choice to leave music behind fairly easy.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“It’s okay, I’m sorry for bringing the mood down.” Brydee admitted.  
“Don’t be sorry, I like learning about you. Sad or happy memories, they make you who you are. You mean a lot to Willow and to be honest I don’t know all that much about any of their childhoods so it's comforting, in a way. I’m just sorry your life has been full of pain. You are too kind and loving for what this world has thrown at you.” Alex sympathized.  
“Alex you barely know me, I’m not sure you can make those kinds of assumptions about me.” Brydee teased.  
“Well to be best friends with Willow must make you a good person-”  
“I’m sorry, have you met Dean?” Brydee cut in.  
“-Besides, you went out of your way to help me yesterday, I haven’t forgotten.” Alex rolled her eyes and laughed at Brydee’s Dean comment.  
“Oh see yesterday was just my way of making myself look good, yeah no I am a total asshole once you really get to know me.” Brydee tried to hide her smile.  
“Oh, really?” Alex over dramatized her words.  
“Just ask Bella.” Brydee stated. Alex gave her a confused look. “Did she not give you hell when you started dating Willow?” Brydee asked.  
“Uh, no. Should she have?”  
“She and I clashed a fair bit. Always assumed my feelings for Willow would get in between Dean and Willow, she refused to see that all I wanted was for Will to be happy. She was an irritating child who jumped to conclusions and if anyone even looked like a threat she would do her best to intervene.” Brydee rolled her eyes, she had forgotten just how annoying that kid was.  
“Ah, well when I got to town Ziggy and Dean had been seeing each other for a while.” Alex shrugged.  
“I’m gonna take a gander and say this Ziggy person copped it ‘cause if you are in the picture and didn’t get hate, someone did.” Brydee concluded.  
“I have noticed Bella can be a bit full on.” Alex laughed.  
“I imagine she got worse after being left with Ross for years.” Brydee didn’t even want to think of the impact he would have had on her.  
“She was my main concern, during the siege. She took a bunch of pills, after Colby’s attention and she overdosed. Luckily I was able to reverse it. It could have gone so badly..” Alex’s voice sounded choked towards the end of her sentence.  
“You saw it happen?” Brydee noted.  
Alex looked at her, the look on her face Brydee interpreted like she was trying to decide whether to answer truthfully or not.  
“Yes. He was causing a scene to help people escape. They just… shot him. He was dead before I could do anything.” Brydee saw Alex’s bottom lip tremble slightly before the Doctor cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. Brydee put her hand on the woman’s shoulder.  
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Alex decided to continue.  
“When it started Mac took Bella into the toilets, they must have hid in between it all going down. Eventually Mac gave herself up to let me know of Bella’s condition. I tried to get to Bella, he caught me..” Alex clapped her hand over her mouth, a muffled cry coming out.  
Brydee had seen the look on her face before, the daunting look in her eyes, the horror.  
“Did he hurt you?” Brydee decided it was the easiest way of asking what happened next.  
“No. He..” Alex was struggling to breathe, before Brydee knew it Alex was in the middle of a panic attack.  
“Hey, hey, Alex listen to me. I’m going to loosen your shirt okay? Take in a deep breath with me. Hey look at me, you’re okay. You’re here, with me, on the beach. No one is going to hurt us. I promise. Just breathe okay follow my breathing.” Alex was shaking, with every breath she seemed to calm down a little.  
Still shaking, Alex continued. “He held a gun to me, he told me to get back on the ground. The whole time he had his gun trained on me. Then Bella called out in pain and he heard her. I didn’t even think I just ran in after him to make sure he didn’t hurt her. Thankfully he just sent us to sit with everyone else again. I don’t think I fully processed what I had gone through, it’s been too hard to talk about. I am so scared I am going to see them again.” Alex let herself cry.  
Brydee held her. “It’s okay, I’m going to make sure they all go away for a long time, Alex. I won’t let them hurt you or anyone else ever again.” Brydee needed to speed things along with Jade, she would have the footage of today checked and hopefully find her stealing so she could pin her and move on to what she really came to Summer Bay for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say thank you for all the love, it took a lot for me to start uploading this fic, I'm very much out of my comfort zone but when the idea formed in my head and I started writing, Brydee became someone I cherished and I thought it selfish if I didn't upload it.


	10. Chapter 10

“Got cha!” Brydee was ecstatic, just like she assumed, Jade couldn’t help herself. She had stolen multiple times during her shift. Brydee had her contact edit the video, it was ready to upload, thankfully all you see is her bra. They had decided to leave her passing out in the video, it would give Jade’s case a horrible look. Posting something so delicate comes across more distasteful. One look at her file now and the court would see how deceptive she is. Ryder’s case should be thrown out the window. Once the police had been informed of the tape going up from an unknown source the video had been pulled down. Her guy had put the video up through a network that kept her relatively safe, only the odd creeper might have stumbled across it and they definitely weren’t going to risk re uploading it. She had to hand it to her contact. He was damn good at what he did, she was thankful he was on her side. Now she just had to stick to her story and pull off the biggest lie she could. Brydee sighed, she had to keep reminding herself that this woman was going to keep causing problems. Seeing Ryder be a free man would be worth the lies she told.

Brydee barged into the police station, she had seen an unknown number flash up on her phone on the way over, assuming it was the police she ignored it.  
She looked at an older fellow, his badge said Sergeant, excellent, she thought.  
“You’re going to want to see this.” Brydee slapped down a folder containing multiple statements about Jade’s theft that she had grabbed from the database and a usb with evidence of Jade stealing. She knew what was coming, she saw Colby out of the corner of her eye, he looked pale.  
“What is it?” The Sergeant asked.  
“Evidence. To prove Jade was lying about stealing from Salt. There’s consent forms from Mackenzie Booth, the owner of Salt giving me permission to install cameras.” Brydee watched the older man open his mouth and shut it, looking over at Colby confused. Colby stepped in.  
“Brydee, we need you to come through, we have some things we need to discuss.” He wouldn’t look her in the eye.  
“Hold on, this is the woman? Is this connected?” The sergeant asked.  
“McCarthy, please-”  
“Connected to what?” Brydee asked sternly, it was game face time.  
“Please if you’ll come through we can talk.” Colby sounded defeated.  
She stormed passed them both into the room awaiting them, she brought her file with her. She waited for them to hit record on their devices.  
“What’s going on? What is this about, you don’t need me here to check over the evidence.” Brydee continued to play oblivious.  
“Please take a seat.” Colby motioned to the chair, he still hadn’t looked her in the eyes. She decided to use this in her favour.  
“Colby, look at me. What’s going on?” She begged. He looked up at her, a tiny part of her held resentment. She tried her best not to blame Colby for what happened to Jai but a small part couldn’t completely forgive him. She faltered a little when she saw the pain in his eyes.  
“We were informed earlier of a video being uploaded, the video is of you and Jade, you tw-” Brydee held up her hand to silence him. She shook her head.  
“Video?” she shook her head.  
“It’s of, intimate nature.” McCarthy said.  
“Hold on, she filmed.. That? Wait, how long is the video what exactly does it show?” Panic filled her voice, both men looked down and over at one another, she saw shame fill their eyes.  
“You’ve both seen it?!” She stood up abruptly causing them both to flinch.  
“No, only Colby and one of our Junior officers. They asked Colby to review it and he.. Well he recognized you. We’ve been trying to contact you, it’s been taken down.” Brydee sat back down. She took a deep breath.  
“She knew.” Brydee stated calmly.  
“Knew what?” They asked in unison.  
“That same night is when I asked Mac if I could install the cameras. Mac had just finished telling me about how she couldn’t fire her due to other charges. She must have overheard. Dammit.” She thumped her fists on the table.  
“You were out to prove her guilty yet intended on sleeping with her?” McCarthy questioned.  
Brydee shrugged. “I contacted a guy and he said he was available to do it in a couple of hours, we needed to keep her distracted. The woman had been eyeing me all night, at first I thought it was my money she was after.. But now, with this?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I was just after a good time and she was willing. I lost my Fiance a month ago, I needed the distraction.”  
McCarthy sighed. “Compile this in the evidence with Ryder Jackson, we will review the footage of Jade stealing from Salt but I think it’s safe to say that the boy was telling us the truth. I suppose you want to be the one to tell him the charges will be dropped?” He eyed Colby.  
Brydee sat there silent.  
“Sure. I’ll let Mac know as well. She’ll be keen to get him back at Salt.” He nodded to his boss.  
“I can walk you to your car?” Colby suggested. Brydee nodded.

“We should talk, when you have the chance. We have some important things to discuss.” Colby said as they walked to her car.  
“I’m guessing Willow told you about my outburst?”  
“Yeah, we went looking an-”  
“Not here.” Brydee cut in. “Give me your number, I’ll text you a time and a place. For now, enjoy telling Ryder he’s a free man.” She smiled at him. Colby tilted his head. His eyes popped open in shock, he opened his mouth but she cut him off again. Handing his phone back to him.  
“It’s better if you don’t ask. Take care Colby, I’ll be seeing you.” She got in her car and drove off before Colby had a chance to fully process what she had implied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter but Isn't Brydee just the best little actor?! ;) Next chapter has a bit of backstory to it and basically shows how much of a gay mess Brydee is, can't wait for you all to read x


	11. Chapter 11

Before Colby could knock on the Stewarts door McCarthy called him. Informing him that the evidence against Jade was enough. The charges had been dropped. Roo came bustling down the stairs, she called out in shock upon seeing the officer.  
“Oh, Colby, you gave me a fright! I’d ask if Ryder has been arrested again but he’s been in his room keeping out of trouble, well, so he says, I think it’s all gotten to him a bit and is avoiding everyone.” She smiled sadly at him.  
“Actually, that’s what I’m here about, can you grab him for me please?” Colby asked.  
“Sure yeah just give me a second.” She flew up the stairs and came down a moment later, Ryder in tow.  
“What now? Don’t tell me I’m being charged for something else I didn’t do?” Ryder’s sentence oozed with spiteful sarcasm. Colby couldn’t really blame him, he had been put through hell over something he didn’t do.  
“No, we have had more evidence come to light, proof that Jade has been in fact stealing from Salt. Among another charge against her for something similar to what happened to you. I can’t go into detail but, the charges against you have been dropped.” Colby smiled at him.  
“Wait, what?” Ryder asked.  
“You have evidence that he didn’t do it?” Roo piped up.  
“Not exactly. Another video has been uploaded, it proves along with the theft that she was lying. So both have been taken into your account. I promise you, there is too much evidence now against her for those charges to ever come back to you. You’re a free man.”  
Ryder looked at him in shock for a moment before turning and hugging Roo.  
“I can’t believe it, I have to go and tell Mac!!” He exclaimed.  
“Yeah, come on I’ll give you a lift. I want to be there when you tell her.” Colby said.

Ryder bounced up the stairs towards Salt. He almost crashed straight into Mac in his hurry.  
“Sorry! Sorry! Mac listen, I have great news.” Mac gave Ryder a knowing smile, he was too excited to notice.  
“The charges have been dropped!” He almost squealed.  
She smiled warmly at him. “That’s great Ryder, really. I’m hoping this means you can come back and work for me? Pleasee.” Mackenzie almost begged. Little did Ryder know, Brydee had asked Mac that when she got Ryder off his charges that Mackenzie make a show of re hiring the young man. His confidence had been shattered, he needed to be lifted up again.  
“Are you sure? I mean people might still talk an-”  
“Yes of course I am sure, do you think you could start right now? It’s just, with you not being here this place is suffering and I’m way in over my head. I could use your skills right about now.” She gave her best puppy dog eyes to him.  
“Well yeah in that case of course I’d love to come back!” He ran out the back to go get changed.  
Colby walked over to Mac smirking at her. “What was that?” He asked  
“What was what?” She asked innocently.  
“You know what.”  
“Someone pointed out to me that he may have needed a pick me up and seeing as I was probably one of the biggest blows to his pride, I thought it only fair I try and help piece it back together, plus he really is one of my best workers so it wasn’t all a lie.” She turned around and winked at Brydee before going back behind the bar. 

Colby had witnessed the exchange between the two. He walked over and sat down across from Brydee.  
“Is now a good time?” He asked.  
“I guess, wouldn’t have minded celebrating but it can wait. What do you want to know?”  
“Willow mentioned Ross, you said you had us all acquitted? We went and checked, he uh wasn’t-”  
“I know. We found his body. I noticed them tying pieces together, they were going to bring Willow down with you and Dean. I couldn’t let that happen. I went higher up and made it disappear. You’re welcome by the way.” She took a sip of her drink.  
“I had no idea.” He shook his head.  
“Of course you didn’t, no one in your sector knew. Lance knew of course, but not Robbo, we didn’t find a need to tell him. He had done his fair share of horrible things for the ones he loved, he would have understood.” she watched a dreaded look wash over Colby’s face.  
“You think so?” His voice sounded so small. He had looked up to Robbo, Brydee didn’t realize just how close they were.  
“I know so. People like us, we do things others wouldn’t to protect the ones we love. It’s who we are and I knew Robbo, he was one of us.” She had taken his hand and squeezed it.  
“You knew him?”  
“Trained under him for a few years, before he knew it, I out ranked him.” Brydee couldn’t help the pride that washed over her. Robbo had been incredibly proud of her. Robbo had no idea the man standing next to him when she got her new badge couldn’t have been more in love with her.  
“You okay?” Colby asked.  
“Yeah, Robbo didn’t know about Lance and I. It stings that.. It just sucks. They were good men.” Brydee admitted quietly.  
“They were, to Lance and Robbo.” Colby lifted his drink.  
Brydee felt a tear roll down her cheek. “To Lance and Robbo.” She choked out.

Brydee cleared her throat. “It’s over, with Ross. He’s dead and gone and I’ve cleaned up anything necessary."  
“So you’re a cop?” Colby sounded surprised and intrigued.  
“Mhm, I’m a Sergeant with the AFP.”  
Colby almost choked on his drink. “Sergeant?!”  
She laughed. “What, didn’t think you could outshine me did you, senior constable.” She teased.  
“It’s not that-” Brydee scoffed. Colby laughed. “It’s not. Doesn’t it take years to get up there?” He asked with a child's wonder.  
“It does. My main division was with children originally, growing up how Jai and I did I dunno I guess it inspired me to go in that direction. We got a high priority case come in, very sensitive. The sergeant in charge at the time looked over a detail I didn’t, he was a stubborn old man, I tried to correct his mistake but he wasn’t having it. There were seven on the team including myself, three of the others listened to me. I put my foot down and refused to follow his orders, the whole thing smelt like a trap. He went in with the remaining three, none of them came out. It was a set up, in the scramble of everything I was put in charge, we went through with my plan and we saved the kid. I got a phone call the next day, the higher ups wanted me running my own team, said my talents could be better utilized. So they gave me my new rank and my team, the three who stuck with me and two new recruits.” Brydee sighed. Colby was taking it all in.  
“Two years ago, it feels like yesterday. Lance called me not long after my promotion, I hadn’t heard from him for about 8 months or so prior to that. He tells me he could use someone like me on his team, they were investigating corrupt cops. I told him I couldn’t do it, as much as it would have been a party working with him again it just wasn’t who I was. I remember him laughing, he said it was worth a shot and then admitted even though he would have been thrilled if I had of said yes that work wasn’t the reason he called. He said it was a cover, he got cold feet and decided to work together would be enough for him. I was confused, I thought he was drunk, he laughed and then he went silent, he cleared his throat and said he wanted to see me. Me being me just assumed he meant just casually seeing me so I said “when and where cowboy” and he said “That was one time and I was way too drunk I should not have been allowed on that horse.” Brydee looked down at her glass.  
“Tell me he actually got the courage and asked you out.” Colby tried to bring her back from where her thoughts had taken her.  
“Yeah, he said “I miss your eyes.” And I of course laughed at him ‘cause I’m oblivious and up until Lance I hadn’t ever had feelings for a man. He said to me, “I know you probably haven’t thought about me all this time, but I think about you every day. Every day we spent time together after training were the best days, I could talk to you for hours on end and it felt peaceful and exhilarating at the same time. I want to take you out on a proper date, I want to start my future, today, with you.” And I shit you not, I said. “But I’m gay?”  
Colby threw his head back and laughed. “Wow I wish I had been there, wow, that’s, wow. You really made the guy jump through hoops huh.” Colby laughed and dodged the hand that was snaking out to hit him.  
Brydee shook her head. “I really had never felt anything for a guy before, it was weird. He told me it was okay, he just wanted to see me face again. Hang out and so on. So I flew to him, we spent every waking moment together, we lost sleep just, talking. I started to get a handle on how I felt and then I had to leave. He saw me off at the airport and I turned to him and said. “I’m not sure I’m all gay now?” He looked at me with wide eyes, smiled and hugged me. He asked if we could keep in contact which we did, about a month later I asked if he could fly out to me and he did. I picked him up at the airport, and told him “I missed your eyes.” I think we both knew how we felt but he was letting me steer, he knew how confused I was. After about a week we went up the mountains, there was a sport that has a pond and waterfall, it’s beautiful. I said to him “I’ve always liked women, well woman.” He smiled at me and said, “Willow.” I had told him all about our past by this point. “Yeah” I said. “There’s never been anyone else really, I never felt anything for anyone else. Until I met you. What we have is so comfortable. It feels like breathing. And I never really thought of you romantically and I don’t know why. But now I do. I still think I’m very much gay and I need to figure that out for myself, but I want to be with you Lance. I just ask that you be patient with me because I do have a lot I need to figure out.”  
He said he was more than happy to be patient, then I asked if I could kiss him and he said “Consent is so sexy, of course you can.” In this really alluring voice and a shiver ran down my spine. It was wild.” Brydee slumped back into her seat with a content smile on her face. Colby looked awe struck.  
“Did you figure it out?” He asked softly.  
She smiled at him. “For the most part, I identify as pansexual, but like hella gay still. And at one point I looked into asexuality, which I can see parts of myself being but I think the term demisexual fits me better. I’m not opposed to sex, if I’m with someone I deeply care about. But it’s also not something I think about often, which is why I never really paid attention to Lance until it was brought to the forefront of my mind. But I am still fine tuning it and to be honest I don’t think I really fit in one box.” Brydee forgot how easy it was to talk with Colby.  
He smiled at her. “I forgot how good it was, to talk with you, to hear how you explain things. You’ve always been one of the most interesting people I’ve known. I missed you.” Before he got cold feet or Brydee had the chance to interrupt him, he continued.  
“I am so sorry, for the part I played. It was stupid of me to chase after Ross, if I could take that night back I would. I never wanted to hurt you or anyone. I was so scared of losing Bella. I’m just so sorry.” He wiped his eyes.  
“I know you are. I mostly blamed Ross, that’s why it was so easy for me to wipe the case. He was better off dead. It hurts and I’m not sure if it will ever stop hurting but I hope it gets easier. I hope I can forgive you and Dean because I’ve missed you as well and I think Jai would want us to be in each other's lives again.” Brydee sniffled.  
Colby got up and yanked her with him, squeezing them in a bear hug.


	12. Chapter 12

“Heey.” Alex snuck up behind Willow wrapping her arms around her.  
“Hi baby, I didn’t you were going to be home for a couple more hours.” Willow turned around and gave Alex a cheeky grin and kissed her. “I’m glad you’re here though.”  
“Mmm?” Alex hummed while melting back into the kiss.  
“Yeah, I thought maybe we could go to Salt? Colby text a little earlier, he said he had something to celebrate.”  
“Oh?” Alex was curious.  
“I don’t know what, he said we would have to go and find out for ourselves, soo, you keen to go out? We can totally just stay in and order food if you don-” Alex cut Willow off with a kiss.  
“I’d love to go out, I’ll just have a quick shower and then we can head out?” Alex suggested.  
“Shower hey?” Willow raised her eyebrows.  
“A quick shower, Willow Harris.” Alex winked at her before taking off to the bathroom. 

They arrived shortly after, Salt was bustling with customers, it was jam packed. Willow spotted Colby at the bar.  
“Colb!” She shouted, she didn’t get his attention until she started pulling on his shirt through the crowd of people.  
“Will! Heey!!” He stammered.  
Willow laughed and turned to Alex. “Oh boy, this is going to be fun, he’s hammered.” Alex smiled.  
“I wonder why?” Alex yelled over the crowd, poking Colby.  
He shook his head, confused. Roo appeared next to them out of thin air.  
Hey did ya hear the great news?” She asked. They shook their heads.  
“The charges against Ryder have been dropped!” there was a loud roar of cheer as Roo let out the words, clearly the bay residents had all heard and were having quite a few.  
“Oh wow, that’s so great to hear.” Alex said earnestly.  
“Yeah absolutely, he’s such a good kid.”  
“Ohh, ohhhh yeah that’s what we are celebrating.” Colby piped up a few minutes too late.

Willow spotted Brydee and Ryder sitting out on the patio, they seem to be locked in a deep discussion, she would wait till later to go say hello.

Ryder shook his head, he was in disbelief.  
“Wait, wait. You are the person the extra evidence came from?” Ryder asked.  
“After we talked I went and scoped this place out. Mac seemed fairly reasonable so I asked her if we could install some equipment to catch Jade red handed. I wanted the job done thoroughly so I may have gotten her into bed, don’t worry we didn’t actually go through with it. Actually, I ended up fainting on her. I had someone set a camera up before hand-” Brydee was explaining.  
“I kneeew it.” Colby almost fell on her. He had let the drinks get away from him that’s for sure.  
“Oi, keep your mouth shut alright. No one else can know I, intervened.” Brydee gave Colby a stern look.  
“Yeah, yeah. It was smart, well, kinda smart. It was really smart-” Colby leaned over to Ryder. “-but don’t tell her I said that.”  
“Pretty sure she heard ya.” Ryder nodded to Brydee, Colby looked over at her too.  
“Oops. You did good. I wish I had thought of that.” He slumped over.  
“Wouldn’t have mattered, you were too close to the case. She is a manipulator Colby, she would have seen you a mile away.” Brydee finished clapping him on the back.  
“Why?” Ryder asked.  
“Why?” Brydee tilted her head, confused.  
“Help me, how do you know I’m telling the truth?”  
“I just know these things, plus you told me without knowing who I was. Everything about you screamed innocent.” Brydee told him.  
“I owe you my life, seriously if not for you people would have looked at me like I was a creep for the rest of my life.” He touched her hand. “I mean it, thank you so much, I owe you one.”  
“What are we owing who now?” Roo set her glass down on the table with them. “Oh, who might you be? I don’t think we’ve ever met, I’m Roo, Roo Stewart. I’m Ryder’s aunt.” She held out her hand for Brydee to take.  
“Brydee Devin, it’s nice to meet you.” She nodded to Roo.  
“Roo, this is the woman I told you about, the one I ran into down at the beach. She is the whole reason the charges were dropped.” Ryder exclaimed.  
“She’s what?” Roo whipped her head back and forth between the pair.  
Colby, who was leaning on Ryder for support, stood up and took the stage.  
“Yeah she installed cameras and lured her into be-” He started.  
“I had Mac install some cameras to get evidence against her and prove Ryder was telling the truth. That’s all that really matters. I was just doing my job.” Brydee had saved the almost train wreck Colby had caused.  
Roo looked at her sternly. “You went out of your way to help him, not many people would do that, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. We will be forever grateful.” Roo had put her hand on Brydee’s arm. Brydee felt overwhelmed all of a sudden.  
“It’s fine, really, it was nothing, if you’ll excuse me.” Brydee took off downstairs before any of them could get a word in.


	13. Chapter 13

She needed air and badly. Her shirt felt tight like it was trying to strangle her, her back hit the brick wall outside the surf club. She heard footsteps.  
She felt a hand touch her arm, she couldn’t see clearly, everything started spinning. She could hear voices but they felt far away. Her head felt heavy and her body burned. “We will be forever grateful.” The words burned into the back of her brain. Except it wasn’t Roo, it was Lance’s mum. “No, please. It was nothing, he means the world to me.” She heard her own voice.  
“Brydee? Willow loosen her shirt please. We need to make sure she doesn’t fall and hit her head.” Alex went into full doctor mode.  
“Alex what’s happening to her? B?” The old nickname Willow used for her slipped out.  
Alex touched her shoulder. “I need you to stay calm, she needs us.”  
Willow nodded sternly. “Just tell me what to do.”  
“Let’s try lowering her to the ground, I need to get her breathing under control or she’s going to pass out but she’s not here with us so we need to try and talk to her to get her to focus.” Alex went to get the torch light out of her pocket.  
“What do you mean she’s not with us.” Willow’s voice was slightly raised, panic setting in.  
“Hey, stay with me, calm yeah?” Alex’s voice was gentle, she was scared for her friend, Alex understood, she was also scared. “I think she’s experiencing PTSD which is causing a panic attack, something must have triggered it.”  
“How do you know?” Willow was partly terrified partly in awe at her girlfriend.  
“Listen closely, you can hear her mumbling. I’ve seen it happen before, she’s reliving a memory and it’s causing her pain.” Alex explained.  
“She was talking with Ryder, Roo and Colby, should I go and-”  
“No, for now let's just stay with her, we can get them after if she wants.” Alex said.  
Willow tried talking to Brydee, who was now sitting up against the wall.  
“Hey B, remember that time we were playing soccer, the other boys hated when we played, mainly because we were better than them. Colby and Dean would always pick us, they may have looked dumb but they knew we were better, they weren’t afraid to admit it. The others ganged up on us and Lachlan kicked the ball straight into my face-” Willow heard Alex audibly gasp. “- and you came running over, you speared him to the ground and Dean and Colby jumped on him as well, you came over to me and helped me up, I was stumbling all over the place but you held me up. We walked over to the soccer ball, you picked it up and said “I think it’s only fair you get to do the same.” I’d never seen Lachlan look so terrified. I was too scared of actually hurting him, I barely kicked the ball. But you all cheered and made a big spectacle about it, like I was the baddest bitch on the field. You always did find a way to make me feel better.” Willow squeezed her arm. Alex noted Brydee’s breathing had slowed down.  
“Brydee? It’s Alex, if you can hear me can you try and open your eyes for me?” Alex asked.  
Brydee started mumbling again. “Dammit.” Alex muttered to herself. “Okay, I’m going to flash my light in your eyes okay, this might sting. Willow you might want to move out of the way.” Alex added.  
“Why?”  
“Because I’m going to forcefully snap her out of whatever's going on. She will most likely react badly to it, she will be very disorientated.” Alex was about to open the woman's eyes when Willow cut in.  
“Wait!” Willow yelled in a hushed voice.  
“Willo-” Alex started.  
“No, whatever you’re about to do, don’t. I know her, she will hate herself if she hurts one of us. Don’t do that to her.” Willow begged.  
“Willow we don’t have much of a choice.” Alex knew the risks, she had to at least try.  
“No, I’ll sit with her all night if I have to.” Willow told her.  
“Remember when you said I was more stubborn?” Alex tried to lighten the mood.  
“Oh you so are.” Willow teased.  
“She told me about you and her going all guerrilla style and scaring the boys in the bushes when you were younger.” Alex told her.  
“Oh wow, I forgot about that! Haha! Oh my god yeah, that was the first time Dean broke his arm. What a moron. Some things don’t change.” Willow chuckled.

Willow and Alex had been sitting with Brydee for close to an hour when Ryder and Roo came down. Ryder stopped in his tracks among seeing them sitting there, Roo collided into him.  
“Ryder!” She scolded him. He pointed over to the three of them, there was clearly something wrong.  
“What happened?” Roo asked. She had noticed the new girl, the one that had saved Ryder seemed to be the one in bad shape.  
Willow looked at Alex. “We believe she’s suffering from PTSD, she sort of passed out and has been mumbling and not responding to us ever since.” Alex answered.  
“Should we call an ambulance?” Roo walked over to them and kneeled down in front of Brydee.  
“The only danger she’s in was falling but we managed to get her to the ground undamaged. We could snap her out of it but Willow thought Brydee would rather not have that happen so we are waiting it out. Eventually the memories will slow down and she’ll gain full consciousness.  
“She took off after something I said, did I cause this?” Roo grabbed at her chest, clearly worried.  
“You did nothing wrong, Roo. PTSD is a horrible thing, the slightest thing can trigger it. Don’t blame yourself.” Alex explained. “Brydee wouldn’t.” Willow finished.  
“And why don’t you want to snap her out of it, how do we do that?” Roo asked.  
“Shining my light in her eyes, there’s a high chance with the disorientation that she may lash out accidentally. Willow doesn’t think Brydee would be too thrilled about that.”  
“Give me the light, I just what open her eyes and flash it?” Roo more demanded than asked.  
“Roo, I know you want to help bu-” Willow tried.  
“No but, I am doing this. Step away, both of you. I’m partly responsible and she doesn’t know me as well as she knows you two so it won’t be as bad on her.” Roo grabbed the torch in Alex’s hand and shooed them both away. Alex moved closer to Ryder.  
“Be ready to grab her if she strikes, okay?” Alex whispered to the young man. He nodded at her.  
Roo knelt in closer to the woman and opened her eyes, they were moving a million miles a minute, she took a deep breath and turned on the torch, she quickly moved it from her left eye to her right. She felt the woman under her flinch. Before she had time to think she was being hauled backwards by the throat. Roo heard the others, she saw Ryder grab at the hand that was around her throat, she wasn’t budging, he put his head below her arm essentially picking her up, Roo looked up to find the woman looking at her, confused and horror written on her face, she felt the hand around her throat loosen. Ryder then carried them both back a few steps, he placed Brydee down and she flinched backwards.  
“I’m sorry.” She breathed out  
Roo walked up to the woman who in turn backed up further, bumping into the brick wall.  
“Maybe just give her some space for a minute.” Alex offered. Brydee whipped her head to the side, Alex and Willow were standing there. They looked worried.  
“I don’t understand?” Brydee hated that her voice broke. She tried to hide how upset she was but she wasn’t sure she had the energy. They all looked at Alex.  
She took a slow breath. “You ran downstairs, Willow and I followed you and when we got to you, you were up against the wall mumbling. Your eyes were closed. We lowered you to the ground and decided to wait it out, Roo came down a little while later and wanted to try and snap you out of it. She knew the risks.” Alex finished.  
“You knew I’d hurt her and you let me?!” Brydee didn’t mean to shout. She instantly felt guilty, she could feel the tears about to fall. She needed to get out of here.  
“I’m sorry.” She whispered, she tried to walk away but all four of them followed.  
She heard Roo stop them all and said. “Why don’t you guys leave her with me, I’ll make sure she gets home safe. Wherever home is.”  
“She’s staying in the hotel on the outskirts of town.” Willow told her. “Are you sure, maybe we should stay? She knows me, trusts me-”  
“Willow, I’ve got this, okay. I’ll look after her.” Roo reassured them.  
“I owe her, it’s the least we can do after she got me off the charges.” Ryder piped up.  
Willow and Alex looked wide-eyed at the boy.  
“Yeah, I was shocked too. I think Colby feels bad that he didn’t think to do what she did. It doesn’t matter now, what’s done is done and I promise we will take good care of her.” Ryder promised.  
Willow looked over at the girl she once called best friend, when Roo had started talking she had stopped storming off. They shared a look and Willow knew now wasn’t the time, she probably needed Roo more than Willow or Alex. The girl needed a good cry and Willow didn’t think B would be in a mental position to let Willow or Al see her like that. They nodded at each other.  
Willow took Roo’s hand. “Take care of her.” Willow pleaded.  
“Of course.” Roo turned around and they walked Brydee to her car. Thankfully she had decided not to drink tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was pretty important to me when I wrote it, still is. I hope you enjoyed it x


	14. Chapter 14

The car ride back to the hotel was eerily quiet. They arrived, Roo went to undo her seat belt but Brydee stopped her.  
“It’s okay, you don’t need to walk me to my door, you’ve helped enough already. Thank you.” Brydee finished.  
“I’m not going anywhere until you are inside and I make sure you are alright.” Roo said defiantly.  
Brydee looked over at Ryder as Roo got out. “Is she always like that?” He laughed. “Yeah almost always.” He made his way out the car and Brydee soon followed, she opened the door to her hotel room and Roo made her way over to the kitchenette. Brydee awkwardly sat on the couch.  
“Ryder, would you mind going out to the vending machine and getting us a few snacks?” Roo asked, pointedly. Brydee wasn’t paying much attention, she was fiddling with her hands. Ryder took the hint and made his way outside. Roo came and sat down next to Brydee on the couch, she rested her hand on the younger woman’s leg.  
“Tonight must have been horrible for you.” Roo stated. Brydee nodded. She didn’t trust her voice not to betray her.  
“It’s okay you know, to not be okay. I’m not going to judge you, Ryder sure isn’t going to judge you. In fact, I think it would be good for him to see someone so strong let out their emotions.” Roo knew this woman cared about Ryder, she had gone out of her way to make sure that his charges were dropped. Roo wasn’t about to let her fall apart on her own, she needed someone to help put the pieces back together. And she wasn’t lying, it might do Ryder some good to see that even the strongest of us need to fall apart to start to heal.  
“I-” Brydee barely croaked out. She couldn’t do it, talking was going to set her off. She just couldn’t talk.  
“You don’t have to talk. I’m here, my shoulder is there to cry on.” Roo squeezed her leg.  
“Really?” Brydee whispered. She felt like a child. A fragile broken child who had no one to hold her and tell her it was all going to be okay. She never had.  
“Of course.” Roo rubbed her back. Brydee wasn’t sure why but she felt safe, safest she had felt in a very long time. She looked at the woman next to her and let it out. Tears flowed and wails came out. She didn’t hold back, every bit of pain she had felt came crashing out.

Roughly twenty minutes later Ryder came back inside.  
“Ugh, I’m sorry. I’m a mess.” Brydee tried to hide her shame.  
“Don’t worry I brought us enough snacks to cure all our problems.” He grinned at her.  
“Wonderful.” She sniffled and smiled back.  
“I’m sorry, I’m not usually so..” Brydee didn’t really have the words to explain.  
“Don’t apologize. I’m pretty sure that was a much needed cry.” Roo chuckled, they were both trying to lift her spirits.  
“Thank you. I..I’ve never really um, I just.. Thanks.” Brydee tried to tell them how thankful she was but barely anything came out.  
“Never really what?” Roo asked softly.

Willow and Alex made their way through Alex’s front door.  
“Well, I’m spent.” Willow yawned and stretched her arms.  
Alex was lost in thought putting her keys down.  
“Al?” Willow asks lightly.  
“What? Yeah, sorry. Big day.” Alex agreed.  
“You okay?” Willow took Alex’s hand and led them to the couch.  
“Yeah, it’s just. Something Brydee had said to me, I just sort of overlooked it. There was so much else going on in the story I just kind of never asked..” Alex trailed off.  
“Ask what?” Willow prompted.  
Alex took a breath. “She mentioned being homeless.” She looked at Willow hoping that was enough.  
“Right. Yeah. So, her mum passed away not long after giving birth. She apparently had complications with Jai and then Brydee, it was all too much. They never knew their dad, I’m not sure if their dad even knew about them to be honest.” Willow continued.

Roo felt her heart break.  
“Jai and I were in and out of foster homes as babies, Mangrove River really isn’t the place to be orphaned.” Brydee laughed, she looked at Ryder and Roo who looked mortified. She cleared her throat.  
“Eventually, when we were about 6, we had been put into school by this one family and then the next day they didn’t want us, there was talk about splitting us up so Jai and I legged it. We eventually made friends at school, Willow was our first friend. Her dad would give her extra sandwiches to bring for us. He was very kind. From then on out we crashed on our friends couches or the pub owners backroom was always open to us. We just made it work. It sucked but we had each other and that was all that mattered to us.” Brydee shrugged.  
“And I thought my childhood was crappy.” Ryder joked. Roo glared at him.  
Brydee chuckled. “It is what it is. As we got older we found a rhythm. The parents of our friends helped us out, Karen was batshit but she always said “THE MORE THE MERRIER” and so we were kept fed and washed and for the most part had a roof over our heads. I never really had a parental figure though. I-” Brydee went quiet.  
“It’s okay, you can talk to us.” Ryder insisted. Brydee really wanted to but she also didn’t want to seem weak. She held her tongue.  
“You know.. Mum and I never really saw eye to eye, I knew she loved me but we weren’t good for each other. It wasn’t until I rocked up on Grumps and Roo’s door that I finally felt like I belonged. Roo became the mother I felt I always needed.” Ryder admitted.  
Roo looked at Ryder like she was about to cry.  
“Keep it together woman, I’m just trying to make Brydee feel comfortable enough to talk, don’t go getting a big head.” Ryder said, rolling his eyes at Brydee, they both smiled.  
“Most of the time it didn’t worry me, not having a parent. I never knew what it was like so I guess as long as I was blind to it I was fine. But the worse life got and recently it’s just been so hard, I guess I just. What I’m trying to say.. Is, thank you. It means a lot that you were here tonight. I felt..safe. And I haven’t felt that way in a while.” Brydee was finally able to find the words. She reached out and squeezed Roo’s hand.  
“You’re welcome. Now, what say we leave this place and take you home with us?” Roo stood up and offered her hand to Brydee.  
“What?” Brydee looked up, confused.  
“There’s a spare room across from mine, I’m sure Grumps won’t mind!” Ryder jumped up excitedly.  
“What like, stay with you?” Brydee asked.  
“I say it’s the least we can do for what you did for Ryder.” Roo said.  
“Yeah plus you seem pretty cool and I am lacking in friends, should be fun?” Ryder grinned.  
I don’t want to be a burden, I just have a few things I need to do and then I’ll be off.”  
“Well in the meantime, stay with us.” Brydee had to laugh at Roo’s directness.  
“Well, grab your stuff then and let’s go home.” Ryder started gathering her stuff.  
“Ryder, leave her stuff alone. We’ll be out in the car when you’re ready.” Roo smiled at her before pulling the boy with him outside.


	15. Chapter 15

Alex had been fairly quiet after Willow had caught her up to speed on Brydee’s upbringing, she knew the woman had lost a lot but Alex couldn’t even imagine.  
“You okay over there? You’ve been quiet.” Willow asked softly.  
“Trying to process. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard her life has been. How has life not just completely broken her? And to think, how strong she was for me the other night.” Alex shook her head in disbelief.  
“She always did put others first. Losing Lance must have been hard on her but I think she is exactly where she needs to be right now.” Willow gave her a small smile.  
“You think so?”  
“Something about the way Roo was handling the situation tonight and a look Brydee shared with me, I think for the first time in her life she will have a strong adult by her side looking out for her.” Willow reassured her.  
“I hope so, I should head to bed. I need to be up early for my shift, you coming?” Alex offered out her hand.  
Willow took it and gave it a squeeze. “I might just call Roo and check in, see if she’s alright?”  
“Okay.” Alex whispered softly before kissing Willow. “I love you.” Alex breathed. Willow could have cried at the joy that she felt wash over her.  
“I love you too.” She whispered back. Trying to hold in the giddiness she was feeling, Willow was sure she was going to be the one to say it first. Alex never ceases to surprise her.

Willow hoped it wasn’t too late to call. She wasn’t sure she could get to sleep without checking in. Roo answered the call almost immediately.  
“Hey Willow, we just walked through the front door.” Roo answered.  
“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure if it was too late but I had to try and see how things went, I’m not sure I would have been able to sleep not knowing. How is she?” Willow asked, Roo could tell the younger woman was worried.  
“She’s actually here with us. We spent a while at the hotel and after a long talk and some tears she took up my offer to let her stay with us.” Roo filled Willow in.  
“She actually said yes? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, she did live couch to couch growing up.” Willow was more talking to herself.  
“Which is why I offered. I couldn’t leave her there in the hotel, it just didn’t sit well with me. She’s okay though Willow, well as okay as can be expected. I’ll look after her, so will Ryder.” Roo stated.  
“If there’s anything you need or she needs just let me know okay? She’s a good friend.” Willow wanted more than anything to hear her voice.  
“Yeah, I’ve already seen that for myself. She’s asking if she can speak to you?” Roo asked.  
Like clockwork, Willow chuckled to herself. “Of course.” Willow replied.  
“Hey Will.” Brydees voice came through a bit raw.  
“Hey, how are you feeling? You gave us quite a scare.” Willow blurted out.  
“I’m doing better. This place beats the hotel that’s for sure.” Brydee paused. “Roo has been kind. I opened up to her about most of my childhood, Ryder as well.” Brydee finished in a quiet voice.  
“I’m glad, talking helps especially when you open up to someone as caring as Roo. Actually, I hope you don’t mind, Alex mentioned you telling her a story and mentioning you were homeless and she wanted me to fill in the missing pieces-” Willow started.  
“Yeah Will, I don’t mind. I didn’t even realize I only half told her that information, sorry.” Brydee kicked herself.  
“Don’t apologize, I’m glad you opened up to Alex too. She’s kind of amazing.” Willow gushed.  
“She is indeed. You got lucky there huh.” Brydee teased. Willow heard the smile come back into the woman's voice, she really was going to be okay.

Willow walked into Alex’s room, the Doctor was fast asleep. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. Willow snuggled in next to her and fell asleep almost instantly.

Brydee was tossing and turning. The bed was incredibly comfy but sleep refused to take her. She decided to get up, maybe she would go for a run or something. She quietly made her way downstairs when she saw the kitchen light on. She found Roo sitting at the counter, tea in hand.  
“Can’t sleep?” The older woman asked upon seeing her.  
“Apparently the bed is too comfortable.” She joked.  
“You’re in a new place and are mostly likely used to your own space, it’ll get easier with time.” Roo had walked over and squeezed her arm. Brydee wasn’t sure why but she was glad the older woman was still awake. She went quiet and looked down at her hands.  
“Something on your mind?” Roo asked.  
“Yeah but it’s kind of lame and embarrassing. Actually it's very.” Brydee finished and cleared her throat, she went to walk away too embarrassed to continue.  
“Brydee, no matter what it is I’m not going to think less of you.” Roo said softly.  
She sighed. “It felt nice tonight. I’ve not felt that safe since Lance. And I-” Brydee paused trying to compose herself. “With our jobs we spent a lot of time apart so I am familiar with sleeping without him but I don’t think I’ve gotten a full nights sleep since he died. I miss him holding me. I guess-” Brydee pinched her nose and shook her head. She couldn’t continue.  
“Would you like me to lie-down with you? It might help having someone else t-” Roo was cut off.  
“Yes please.” Brydee barely whispered. She felt so small. She was terrified of showing weakness but the need for comfort right now was overbearing. Roo smiled at her.  
“Of course, don’t feel ashamed. I could do with a good cuddle myself.” Roo assured her.  
“Are you sure? You barely know me, If it’s weird I-” Brydee started to say, she hadn’t noticed her breathing becoming erratic.  
“Brydee, deep breaths. It’s more than okay.” Roo tried calming her down.

They made their way upstairs, Brydee felt all sorts of awkward. The pressure she had put on herself was too much, all she wanted was to feel safe and for some reason this woman provided that.  
“I feel pathetic.” She admitted.  
“Why? Because you asked for something you need? Come on, get over here.” Roo patted on the bed. She climbed in.  
“I just feel like such a child, so weak.” Brydee turned her back to the woman, she felt the older woman put her arm around her and play with her hair.  
“By the sounds of it, you skipped most of your childhood. You never had a mother to hold you and tell you it was going to be okay. You are hurting, it’s okay to want comfort.” Roo told her.  
“Really?” Brydee asked quietly.  
“My mum wasn’t around for a long time. I know what it’s like to crave a mother’s touch, there’s no weakness in that.” Roo admitted. She squeezed her a little tighter.  
“Thank you, for being so kind to me.” Brydee told her.  
“There’s no need for thanks.” Roo started humming an unfamiliar tune and within a few minutes Brydee was out like a light. Roo felt the woman relax in her arms, she smiled. Roo wondered how someone as hardened as Brydee could still be so soft and gentle of a person. She wasn’t sure why she felt so compelled to help her, her brain had told her it’s because of the extreme lengths the woman had gone to for Ryder, whom she also loved like her own. Deep down Roo knew it was more than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes we just need someone to hold us x


	16. Chapter 16

Ryder was surprised to find himself the first awake, with Alf and Martha off enjoying their trip up the coast (they’d never admit it was a honeymoon but it was) the house had been awfully quiet. He made himself a coffee and decided it would be nice to make Roo her favourite tea. He went upstairs and knocked on her door, when she didn’t answer he slowly opened the door to find she wasn’t there. He stood there confused for a moment before he saw Leah’s old bedroom door ajar, the one Brydee now occupied. Ryder assumed they had both probably gotten up earlier and headed out for brekky. As he walked past her room to head downstairs movement caught his eye, he took a closer look and found Roo and Brydee huddled together fast asleep. He smiled to himself, there was something about this new girl Ryder couldn’t figure out. She just seemed to fit so easily. It may have helped that she had gotten his charges dropped but he was pretty positive they would have ended up friends anyway, she seemed pretty cool. He crept into the room placing the cuppa down on the bed side table, he had been extremely quiet but the young woman’s eyes opened anyway. She eyed him carefully, watching him try to be as quiet as possible. She snickered when she saw him notice her awake and get a fright. He stood there and mouthed “Oh really?” before launching himself onto the bed. Landing on top of them both. Brydee found herself laughing hysterically while Roo got up to rouse on the boy. She couldn’t help it. Roo was right though, he really didn’t think before acting.

“It’s not my fault, she laughed at me because I got a fright.” Ryder said to Roo as they walked to the diner.  
“And it’s not my fault you flap about like a walrus, I could have heard you a mile away.” Brydee grinned a devilish grin at him. Roo actually laughed. They both looked at her with shocked faces.  
“You’re not supposed to laugh.” Ryder stated.  
Brydee spotted Jasmine out near the pier.  
“Hey would you two mind if I went and talked with Jasmine for a minute? I need to catch up with her?” She asked.  
“Go for it, we’ll just grab some bacon and egg rolls.” Roo smiled at her.

Brydee walked with more force in her step when she walked up behind Jasmine, she saw the girl wasn’t paying much attention and didn’t want to startle her. It had done the trick, Jasmine looked up to see who was coming over.  
“Hey, didn’t think I’d be seeing you so soon.” Jasmine said.  
“Roo was adamant I try one of Summer Bay’s local hot spots.” Brydee motioned towards the diner.  
“Right right, I actually live upstairs with Colby and Bella. Robbo was Colby’s original roommate but hard as I tried to leave the place, I couldn’t.” Jasmine sighed.  
“I get it, doesn’t help when the view is that amazing.” Brydee tried to lighten the mood.  
Jasmine nodded. “I heard about Jade.” She stated. “Now that that’s taken care of I’m assuming you are going to sort out what you came here for?” Jasmine was direct, Brydee appreciated that.  
“Yes, I have my team on standby. We need to be careful, I’m hoping not to get them involved though. I wanted to ask you to stick by Colby today, he has the day off. I have one of my best looking over Willow and Alex. I’m going to try and keep a leash on Ryder and Roo.” Brydee finished.  
“I didn’t know you knew them.” Jasmine said.  
“I didn’t, I ran into Ryder and found out all about Jade but some stuff happened last night and basically I’m staying with them. So I owe them.” Brydee shrugged.  
Jasmine nodded. “I guess I’ll go and find Colby.”  
“I’ll let you know how things go, take care Jasmine.” Brydee said before Jasmine walked away.

Roo and Ryder brought the rolls outside for them to sit and eat on the pier.  
“It’s so peaceful out here.” Brydee noted.  
“Grumps would say something about how it’s the perfect time to fish.” Ryder said with sarcasm.  
“Grumps?” Brydee question.  
“Yeah, my grandad, Alf Stewart.” He explained.  
“Woah, the infamous Alf stewart is your grandad?” Brydee asked.  
“Sure is.” He smiled rather proudly.  
“Your dad?” Brydee looked at Roo who nodded.  
“He and mum got married recently and they are off on a trip up north.” Roo informed.  
“That’s nice.” Brydee said looking off into the distance. Roo noticed the mood changed and decided distraction was the best tactic.  
“Alright, how about we all go and see a movie in Yabby Creek?” She offered.  
“I’m keen!” Ryder said.  
“I just have a few errands to run, I could meet you back at the surf club in an hour and we can go from there?” Brydee compromised.  
“Sounds wonderful, see you there.” Roo said before her and Ryder wandered off.


	17. Chapter 17

“Senior Constable Jay Myers.” Brydee slapped down the folder she was holding. “Well, not Senior Constable anymore, for your sake anyway, wouldn’t want your cell buddies finding out who you are would we?” She continued.  
“No point in threatening me, Victor and Des are way ahead of you.” The corrupt cop admitted.  
“Meaning?”  
“They’ve already threatened to reveal who I am multiple times now. As long as I do what they say I’m fairly safe.” He sneered at her.  
“I can do you one better.” She stated. His head tilted, she had his attention.  
“How does freedom sound? You’ll never see hide nor hair of the ouroboros gang ever again.” She smiled at him.  
“Tempting. What do I have to do?” He asked  
Brydee looked him in the eyes. “Kill them. All of them.”  
“And how is one man supposed to kill roughly 10 people?”  
“You’ll be given an opportunity later today. Accept and I’ll give you the details.” She had sat down now, twirling the pen like this meeting meant nothing at all to her.  
“I do this and I walk free?” He double checks.  
“Naturally.” She nods.  
“Count me in.” He gleans.  
“There's an unfortunate gas leak going on, one of the corridors has been compromised. All of Victor’s men besides Des will be escorted to a communal hearing, or so they think. You don’t have to worry about them, they will be taken care of. You just have to worry about Victor and Des. We’ve got a guard in on the job, he will have left you supplies in your bunk to finish the job. Lockdown alarms will go off due to what’s happening with Victor’s men, this is when you strike. Make it look like they killed each other. You’ll be out the second the lockdown is over.” Brydee concludes.  
“What if I can’t make it look like they killed each other?” He asked.  
“Don’t care. Even if it’s messy just make sure those fuckers die, got it?”  
He nodded slowly.  
“Good, this will all start to unfold in the next 10 minutes, go to your bunk, be ready. I’ll be seeing you.” She left the interrogation room.

40 minutes later one of her officers joined her in their parked car down the road from the prison.  
“How’d it go?” She asked.  
“All 12 are dead Sarge.” The younger officer informed her.  
Brydee nodded. “Was it clean?”  
“Yes, Myers ended up getting the drop on Victor and Des, our other guy got Myers from behind, his men all died from the gas, things got a little escalated with other inmates but it was sorted fairly quickly. It’s done, the ouroboros are finished and as far as the prison is concerned, it was a riot attempt gone wrong.” The young officer concluded.  
“Good. You and the others did well, you should be proud.” She told her officer.  
“Thank you Sarge.” she smiled.  
“Could I get you to drop me at the Summer Bay surf club?” Brydee asked.  
“Of course.” The officer agreed.

Before Brydee could leave the car her younger officer asked.  
“What’s next, Brydee?”  
“I honestly don’t know.” She sighed. “All I could think about was this day, making sure they all couldn’t come back and hurt anyone else. The future is quite scary if I’m being honest.” Brydee admitted.  
“You know Jack, Leo and I will follow you anywhere. We wouldn’t be anywhere else but at your side.” The officer brought her fist over her heart.  
“I know Trin. Give me a couple of days to take in everything and figure out where to go from here, I’ll get in contact when I know what’s happening.” Brydee told the younger woman. She smiled and got out of the car.  
She sent Jasmine a quick text asking to meet up later before meeting Roo and Ryder to spend the afternoon with them.

Roo took note at how quiet yet happy Brydee seemed, Ryder wouldn’t shut up the whole car ride to the movies and Brydee spent the whole time smiling and taking in every word he said. She was curious as to what errands she ran earlier.  
“Alright, we’re here. Ryder I don’t think I need to remind you to keep quiet during the movie, right?” Roo asked with sarcasm.  
“And yet you still did.” Ryder feigned hurt.  
“Well you can’t be too sure, have you ever thought about getting the world record team in Roo?” Brydee asked with a sly smile.  
Roo took the bait. “No, why?”  
“Well with how much Ryder can talk without having to take a breath I’m sure he could hold the world record-” Brydee continued.  
“OI!” Ryder said while the two women laughed.  
Brydee spent the whole moving quietly mocking Ryder and Ryder in return mocked her back, Roo only ever got up Ryder which infuriated the boy.  
“Wait until we get out of here.” He mouthed at her.  
“Ryder! SH!” Roo said. Brydee couldn’t help the snort that escaped her. It caught everyone off guard and the whole movie theatre, including Roo and Ryder burst out laughing.  
Roo shook her head. “Okay that’s enough, both of you.” She tried being stern but she couldn’t help the smile that escaped her lips.

They got back home to the stewart household just before dinner, Ryder had complained most of the trip home about starving.  
“You’re such a sook.” Brydee teased.  
“I’m a growing boy what do you want from me? I need food at all times.” Ryder grabbed some fruit and hooked into it.  
“You literally ate snacks the whole movie, where does it all go?” Brydee shook her head  
“Speaking of, how about we do dinner here? I could cook up a roast?” Roo sounded so excited by the idea.  
“Ah, I wish I could but I promised to check in with someone once we got back, I’m sorry. How about tomorrow night?” Brydee hoped she wouldn’t offend them.  
“Of course! Tomorrow night sounds wonderful.” Roo smiled at her.  
“Okay, you sure? Cause I can call and canc-” Brydee started to say.  
“No no don’t cancel, Ryder and I will make do.” Roo assured her.  
“Okay well I better be off, thank you for today. It’s been lovely.” Brydee hoped they understood just how much it had meant to her.


	18. Chapter 18

Brydee made her way to salt when she ran into Willow who was bringing gym gear back inside.  
“Hey you.” Brydee said, smiling at her.  
“Hey.” Willow said sluggishly.  
“Oof, long day?” Brydee inquired.  
“And then some, one of the trainers is sick an-” Willow’s face took on a slight green tinge.  
“Will? You good?” Brydee waved her hand in front of the woman’s face.  
“What? Oh yeah no I’m fine.” Willow said brushing her question off. “Hey Jas!” Willow exclaimed, clearly putting on a front for the other woman.  
“Hey Will, how’s the gym going?” Jas asked with a small smile.  
“Smooth as always, I should get back to it though. Bye!” Willow bounced off. Brydee looked after her, confused.  
“Did I miss something?” Jasmine asked Brydee.  
“Her mood flipped 180 when you arrived. She was hella exhausted before and then chirpy as anything. She mentioned a trainer was sick.” Brydee looked to Jasmine for an answer.  
Jasmine sighed. “I asked Willow to run the Gym for me, after Robbo-” Jasmine took a pause and shook herself. “-Robbo owned the gym, now I do. I don’t know the first thing about running one and Robbo had recently promoted Willow so it wasn’t much of a stretch to ask her to run it but she’s clearly struggling. I haven’t been easy to approach I guess. I should talk to her, if she needs help..” Jasmine trailed off.  
“Well if you need any help in the meantime, I’m partially qualified, I’ve trained my junior officers and I am pretty great at organizing.” Brydee shrugged. “Especially if it will help ease the pressure on Willow.” She concluded.  
“I might take you up on that but aren’t you with the AFP?” Jasmine inquired.  
“Yeah and eventually I’ll have to sort that out and continue on but what’s the harm in sticking around for a little bit? Apparently this town could use my help.” Brydee winked at the other woman who in turn laughed.  
“Come and talk to Willow with me?” Jasmine asked.  
She nodded and made their way over to the gym. Willow was packing away the equipment she had brought in.  
“Will?” Jas asked after her.  
Willow whipped her head around. “Hey, sorry, is everything alright?” She looked between Jasmine and Brydee.  
“Brydee ratted you out.” Jasmine tattled. Brydee shot her a playful glare.  
“And by that she means, if you need help, I’m good with books and I’m a Sergeant with the AFP so I’m pretty sure I qualify to boss people around a punching bag.” Brydee offered.  
“Wait really? You could help out?” Willow sounded so relieved. Jasmine made a tsk sound.  
“You should have told me you were struggling. We could have figured something out.” Jasmine chastised her.  
“I didn’t want to stress you out, plus most of the time I have things under control it’s just with one of my trainers out sick it’s left me in the lurch.” Willow admitted.  
“Okay well what do you need, I can help.” Brydee told her.  
“Come in tomorrow and we can go over the books, I could use help with a lot of the business side. It’s all piling up and I would much rather you there than out here with these poor folk.” Willow grinned evilly at her.  
“Hey! I’m sure they would prefer me over you. God I don’t even want to imagine how bossy you are as a trainer.” Brydee laughed. Willow glared at her. “I’ll be here bright and early. We should go upstairs, grab that drink and talk?” Brydee asked Jasmine.  
“Sure thing, Will if you need me, call. I don’t want you struggling.” Jasmine gave her a serious look.  
“Will do, hey maybe I can join you both after I close up?” Willow asked.  
Jasmine looked at Brydee, the woman clearly not sure if it was okay.  
“As long as that’s okay?” Jasmine asked Brydee. “What time?” Brydee asked Willow.  
“Half hour or so.” Willow replied.  
“Yeah sounds good, see you.” Brydee went to leave.  
“Wait, hold on. What’s going on?” Willow asked, eyeing them both.  
“Nothing we just have to talk about some things privately. Butt out nosy.” Brydee answered, giving Willow an innocent smile. Willow kept eyeing them both, skeptically.  
“Alright I’ll see you up there then.”

“What can I get you both?” Mackenzie asked.  
“White wine for me and?” Jas looked at Brydee.  
“Moscow Mule thanks.” Brydee replied.  
Both women nodded their heads in appreciation of her drink choice.  
“Actually, make them both a mule, it’s been too long.” Jasmine changed her mind.  
“When Willow joins us later I’ll get her one too.” Brydee ordered ahead knowing Willow would definitely be keen for a drink.  
“Absolutely.” Mac said.  
“Oh hey and Mac,” Brydee called out.  
Mac turned back around. “Hm?”  
“Once Willow gets here, you’re more than welcome to join us.” Brydee offered.  
“Thanks, I might take you up on that, you’re a great drinking partner.” Mac winked at the woman.  
Jasmine laughed as they made their way to the lounges.  
“So you’ve made an impression on Mac huh?” Jasmine asked.  
“I guess I have, yeah. She’s glad to be rid of Jade that’s for sure.” Brydee said.  
“Anyone would think you were making friends, helping out Mac, Ryder, Me and now helping out Willow. You’ve got a nice comfy bed with the Stewarts who seem smitten by you. Anyone would assume you’re putting down roots.” Jasmine speculated.  
“I guess they would. Have to admit this town has got its charm.” Brydee shrugged. “I owe it to Willow to try and repair our friendship. She was once my best friend you know.” Brydee told her.  
“No, I didn’t. Maybe you can catch me up on all of that after we catch up on the other stuff first?” Jasmine hinted.  
“Right yeah. They are all dead. Every single one of Victor's men. Dead. Victor and Des, also dead. Tragic accident happened at the prison earlier. A riot seemed to break out after a lethal gas leak. Unfortunately one of our ex officers, Jay Meyers was caught up in it. He is also dead.” Brydee stated. She gave Jasmine a pointed look when she mentioned the man who helped hold her hostage.Jasmine nodded, taking a moment to process.  
“All of them?” She asked.  
“All of them. I had one of my best on the case. The ouroboros won’t be bothering you or anyone else in the future. And any of the officers who were corrupt will think twice about betraying us again after what we did to Jay.” Brydee admitted.  
“What do you mean?” Jasmine asked.  
“We gave him immunity but double crossed him. If he killed Victor and Des he would be released immediately. We had someone else on the inside who killed him after he got the job done.” Brydee clarified.  
“Good.” Jasmine wouldn’t lose an ounce of sleep over that man.  
“Here you go.” Mac had brought over their drinks.  
“Thanks Mac, care to join us?” Brydee asked, the serious topic now out of the road she didn’t see why she couldn’t invite the woman to join them a little early.  
Mac looked around the restaurant.  
“Uhh-” She started.  
“Come on, your staff can handle it. Let loose with us.” Jasmine told the woman.  
“Yeah, treat yourself.” Brydee chimed in.  
“Yeah, you know what, you’re right. Let me go and tell them all I’m clocking off.” Mac smiled before racing off. When Mac returned Brydee told Jasmine and Mac all about her childhood, the good, the bad and the ugly. They listened with the utmost attention.

“Wow, I knew Dean was a little shit but wow.” Mac shook her head, the other women laughed.  
“Have you known Dean long?” Brydee asked.  
“No, close to a year. Dad kept his secrets pretty close to his chest, it wasn’t until I went digging that I found out I had a brother-” Mac was finishing saying when the glass in Brydee’s hands shattered.  
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to- I should go.” Brydee said.  
“Hold on you have a massive cut on your hand, Brydee!” Brydee was already halfway down the stairs by the time Mac finished calling out.  
“What the hell just happened?” Mac looked at Jasmine. Jasmine shook her head, not sure herself. A couple minutes later Willow appeared.  
“Hey, how many do I have to throw back to catch up?” Willow wriggled her eyebrows at them.  
“Not many at all actually.” Jasmine told Willow.  
“Soft! Where is Brydee?” Willow asked as she sat down.  
“No idea, she ran out after smashing a glass.” Mac told them.  
Willow looked at them wide-eyed.  
“What happened?” She asked.  
“Well she had just finished telling us about her childhood and her friendship with you growing up and how annoying Dean was and then the glass smashed.” Mac recalled.  
“You’re forgetting that she asked how long you had known Dean, I’m gonna assume she didn’t know you were brother and sister.” Jasmine summed up.  
“I’m not sure what that’s got to do with her getting upset and running out though?” Mac questioned.  
“I’m guessing she didn’t get up to the part where Dean was behind the wheel of the car that killed her twin brother?” Willow asked quietly.  
Mac’s jaw dropped. She felt instantly guilty. “No, she hadn’t. I’m sorry, she didn’t seem angry when she was talking about him in the stories she told with you in them.” Mac shook her head confused.  
“She tries her hardest not to blame Colby and Dean but I think a part of her does. She doesn’t want to but she can’t help it.” Willow admitted.  
“Fuck. We should have gone after her.” Mac kicked herself. “I should go and find her.” She continued.  
“Maybe we all should?” Jasmine offered.  
“Yeah the more people the better.” Mac sighed. “I’m really sorry, I-”  
“Mac, it’s okay, you didn’t know.” Willow tried to reassure the woman.


	19. Chapter 19

Brydee looked down at her phone. Multiple missed calls from almost all the contacts in her phone. She couldn’t even bring herself to call them back. She saw a text from Alex wanting to know where she was, Willow and the others were looking for her. She felt the waves of the ocean crash against her knees. She fought back against them and stood upright. She threw her phone back into the sand and screamed. She screamed until her voice was hoarse. She collapsed into the water as arms engulfed her.  
“What happened?” She heard Alex ask frantically.  
“Mac-” Brydee croaked out.  
“Something happened to her? Willow said she was helping look for you, I-”  
Brydee struggled to breathe, Alex noticed.  
“Deep breaths, you don’t have to talk okay, just breathe.” Alex tried reassuring her.  
“Mac is Dean’s sister.” Brydee couldn’t help the sob that wracked her chest.  
Alex sighed. “You didn’t know. I’m sorry. It must be gut wrenching, finding out he gained a sister when you lost your brother.” Alex brushed her hair back. Brydee threw herself into Alex’s arms and cried. The Doctor had a way of understanding her on another level.  
“How do you always manage to get me?” Brydee sobbed.  
"I’m a doctor, it’s what we do.” Alex shrugged. She wished she could have said something funny, something soothing. She had nothing to offer at this moment, except a shoulder to cry on and-  
“When Willow called she said Mac saw a cut on your hand due to the glass, can I take a look.” Alex asked. She had almost forgotten about the cut.  
Brydee lifted her hand up for the doctor to inspect. “We should go to the hospital, you’ll need a few stitches but it’ll be okay.” Alex assured her.  
“No it won’t.” Brydee said before she could stop herself. She needed to see Jai, to see Lance. She missed them both, she wasn’t sure she could live without them.  
“I can’t do it.” She sobbed into Alex. “I can’t live without them.” She held onto Alex for dear life.  
“You can and you will. You are stronger than you think.” Alex tried reassuring her.  
Brydee flinched.  
“You need to leave me alone.” She tried pushing Alex away. She stood up trying to escape her arms.  
“Hey, hey calm down it’s okay, I’ve got you.” Alex insisted.  
“IT ISN’T OKAY, ALEX. I LOSE PEOPLE, I ALWAYS LOSE PEOPLE. JUST LEAVE ME BE. Just leave me be..” Brydee collapsed back into the water. She started punching the waves as hard as she could, wanting to get some of her frustrations out. She pulled at her hair and continued screaming in anguish. She dug her hands into the mud and waters below her and rested them there.  
“I know you’re hurting but we need to move, you’ll drown if you stay here.” Alex tried pulling Brydee out of the water. It was no use. Alex ran out of the water, she grabbed her phone that she had dropped on the beach.  
“We’re up the northern end of the beach, she’s not okay please hurry.” Alex didn’t even have time to listen if Willow responded, she watched a massive wave go right over the top of Brydee, she had been swept up and had completely lost sight of her. To her right she saw her resurface, spluttering. Alex ran over to her and pulled her onto the sand, she didn’t fight her. Alex was guessing she had swallowed a bunch of water. She pulled out her phone to call an ambulance.  
“No.” Brydee croaked out.  
“If you’ve got water on your lungs, you’ll die if left untreated.” Alex had gone full doctor mode.  
“This isn’t my first rodeo with the ocean, I’ll be fine Alex.” Brydee had noticed something over Alex’s shoulder, she watched the woman flinch. Alex turned around and saw Dean and Willow racing onto the sand.  
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Dean yelled at her. Alex looked over to find Brydee was already on her feet.  
“Back off Dean.” She threatened.  
“No. Hate me all you like, I don’t care. You wanna hit me? Hit me.” Dean challenged.  
So she hit him.  
“Hey!” Willow got in between the two. “Cut it out, now!” She yelled.  
“Will move.” Dean asked.  
“No, it doesn’t have to be like this!” Willow tried to reason.  
“Yeah it does, come on then, you want to hurt me for what I did, I get it. I had years to sit on it, think of what I did. What I lost that night. It wasn’t just you who lost a brother that night, I did too!” Dean yelled in anguish. Alex knew what was going to happen before it did, Willow had her back to Brydee, she didn’t see her jaw lock, her hands clench, Brydee barged past Willow and tackled Dean to the ground. With every word she screamed landed a punch.  
YOU -punch- DIDN’T -punch- LOSE -punch- SHIT!” Brydee had completely lost it. Willow managed to pull her off him. Brydee froze.  
“Let me go, Willow.” She asked, coldly.  
“No, please, you-” Willow felt Alex grab her arm. She pulled her away from Brydee.  
“I think it best if we let them get this out.” Alex said softly. Brydee made her way back to Dean, she started pulling him towards the water.  
“She’s going to kill him.” Willow was almost positive.  
“Give her a little credit.” Alex said.  
“That isn’t Brydee, that’s grief and hatred.” Willow pleaded.  
Brydee pushed Dean’s face under water. She pulled him up instantly. She threw him back into the sand.  
“Don’t you ever, tell me you lost a brother. You didn’t feel him being ripped from inside of you. I did! I couldn’t breathe Dean! I felt like I was going to choke and die. I wish I had! He was my everything, he was a literal part of me and I felt him die.” Brydee barely managed to get the last words out through her tears.  
“You aren’t listening! I’m not saying you didn’t feel it. He wasn’t just yours to lose!” Willow jumped at the crack that surrounded them. Brydee had stomped on Dean’s face, breaking his nose.  
“I had 12 men killed today Dean, you should shut your mouth before I add another one to that list.” She spat at him.  
“OI!” He yelled back at her when she went to walk off. “We aren’t done!”  
Alex was baffled at Dean’s stupidity. She was clearly threatening his life and he just waved it off like it was nothing.  
“Pick your battles Dean.” Brydee kept walking.  
“No, this needs to end. I get that you hate me-”  
“I DON’T HATE YOU!” She had grabbed his soaked shirt and smacked him. He looked confused.  
She hit him in the chest.She kept hitting him, each hit weaker and weaker before she started crying into his chest.  
“I want him back.” She wailed into his chest. “I just want him back.” Willow and Alex stood frozen, in tears watching the woman break down in front of them. Her screams broke them. Alex wished nothing more than to be able to give her back her brother.  
“I don’t hate you. I blamed Ross.” Brydee sniffled. “I wasn’t prepared to find out you had a sister. It caught me off guard and it hurt. I really don’t blame you, I just wish life wasn’t so unfair.” She sobbed.  
“I gained a sister and you lost your brother.” Dean repeated what Alex had summarized.  
“You didn’t figure that out on your own now did you?” Brydee taunted him.  
“No, Willow guessed that’s why it shocked you so much, she told me that’s how you might be feeling. I’m sorry. For Jai, for life being so hard on you. If I could make it all better I would.” Dean admitted.  
Brydee tried to slow her breathing. She was sitting in Dean’s lap getting hit by waves, the tide was coming in.  
“We should get up.” Brydee pointed out.  
“I kind of don’t want to let this moment end just yet.” Dean said in a small voice.  
Brydee sighed. “I missed you too, idiot.” He hugged her tighter.  
“I know it won’t be easy, but I’d like to try and move past this, with you in my life, if you’ll let me.” Dean asked quietly.  
“It’s hard to let go.” Brydee admitted.  
“I would never ask you to let go, he’s way too important. I’d just like to make it to a point where we can both look back on him and our memories and laugh, sometimes cry. But laugh and enjoy those moments.” Dean offered.  
Brydee took a deep breath. “I’d like that too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 points to whoever can figure out the nod to buffy in this chapter ;D also Dean, that nose break was for being an idiot and not supporting Willow leaving on home and away. You're welcome guys :P


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter for you all today just to say thanks for sticking with me and this story :) I hope you enjoy, this one was rather fun for me to write.

The waves had started coming in more forcefully so they all retreated to the grass up on the hill.  
“I might call it, Ben needs me up and early in the shop, thanks for putting the nose back into place Alex.” Dean said, smiling at them before leaving.  
“Ugh that reminds me, I need to be up early too.” Willow pouted. Brydee, who had found herself tucked between Willow’s legs leaning into her so Willow was essentially hugging her from behind, groaned. “Five more minutes.” She more demanded than asked. She heard Alex chuckle.  
“You’ll need to be up early too you know, you did say you would help.” Willow reminded her.  
“Help?” Alex asked.  
“I’m swamped at the gym, Brydee was always good at the boring stuff, kind of like you.” Willow teased Alex. Alex giggled.  
“Wow, you’re just going to take that?” Brydee mocked.  
Alex scoffed. “What would you have me do?” She heard the laughter in Alex’s voice.  
“I’m sure you know by now just how ticklish Willow is.” Brydee teased, she tipped her head backwards to look at her, grinning as she did so.  
“Don’t even try it, I will end you both.” Willow said.  
“Oh, is that a threat-” Brydee started.  
“Or A promise.” Alex finished. Both women looked at each other, proud of their joined joke.  
“Oh ha ha, you’re both hilarious. Try me.” Willow gave a warning look. Brydee looked at Alex with a cheeky grin letting her know she was definitely about to try her.  
“Your funeral.” Alex chuckled.  
Willow sighed. “Why can’t you behave?” She asked Brydee.  
“Because unlike Alex, I’m not whipped.” Brydee sniped.  
“Woooow, oh is that how it’s going to be?” Alex raised her eyebrow at Brydee.  
Brydee shrugged and mustered up the courage to say. “I’m a bad bitch.” And held a straight face. Both Alex and Willow burst out laughing. Brydee couldn’t hold her composure for long. She ended up laughing along with them.  
“Please, you’re the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen.” Willow poked Brydees nose.  
“Get. The. Fuck. Out-” Brydee was saying.  
“Hey, what about me?” Alex asked, feigning upset.  
Willow and Brydee looked at each other.  
“Most gorgeous?” Brydee offered.  
“Beautiful?” Willow countered back.  
“Sexy?” Brydee kept it going.  
“Hot af.” Willow retorted back.  
Brydee stopped and looked at her. “I’m sorry did you just say af.. You can’t just say af that is unacceptable.” She stated.  
“Hot as fuck, happy?” Willow asked.  
“Very, look, your girlfriend is blushing, aw.” Brydee made mocking cutesy noises at them.  
“You two are a nightmare.” Alex said shaking her head, trying to hide the embarrassment she felt at the compliments.  
“Tell me you slip her the occasional doc pick up line Willow.” Brydee asked her. Willow laughed.  
“I think Alex might die from embarrassment, plus cringy pick up lines are your thing, B.” Willow smiled.  
“OH I HAVE A GOOD ONE!” Brydee shouted in excitement.  
“Please, do not-” Alex started saying.  
“Nooo, please do.” Willow grinned evilly at Alex.  
“You must be my coronary artery because you are wrapped around my heart.” Brydee made a very “Hehe” sound to follow.  
“Wow, no, you should arrest yourself for that.” Alex stated.  
“Oh come on, not even a little adorable?” She looked between Willow and Alex, mocking shock that it wasn’t a winner.  
“See what I had to grow up with?” Willow asked.  
“To be honest, I’m surprised you didn’t realize you liked women long before me.” Alex chuckled.  
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Willow exclaimed.  
“Oh come on, you two would have been an adorable little couple.” Alex stated.  
“HA adorable, I’ll take that as a win.” Brydee smiled triumphantly before a shiver took over her body.  
“Okay, time to go.” Alex said.  
“Noooo I’m fine, really.”  
“You were shaking.” Willow pointed out.  
“Yeah, because of excitement, didn’t you hear Alex call me adorable?” Brydee tried her best to distract them from actually leaving.  
“Um excuse you I believe she called us both adorable, right?” Willow asked Alex.  
Alex stared at Willow with wonder and amusement.  
“You really fall for that?” Alex asked.  
“Shhhh, Alex doesn’t know what she’s on about.” Brydee tried to shoosh the doctor.  
Alex raised her eyebrows, Brydee knew she was about to out her.  
“She is trying to distract us from leaving.” Alex stated.  
Brydee squinted at her. “I would never.”  
“So you won’t mind if we get up?” Willow asked.  
Brydee huffed like a child not getting candy.  
Alex and Willow started walking away intentionally calling her bluff.  
“Wait.” Brydee barely whispered. Both Alex and Willow took note on how sad she sounded.  
“I’m sorry about how I acted earlier. It wasn’t okay. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, Alex and I shouldn’t have attacked Dean. My emotions got the better of me. I’m sorry.” Brydee finished, paying close attention to the ground.  
Alex walked up to Brydee. “It’s okay, you don’t need to apologise. You were upset and in shock, I’m just glad you are okay.” Alex assured her.  
“Mee too, and Dean bounced back from that broken nose fairly well so I’d say tonight ended up being a step forward. I let Mac and Jas know you are okay, do you want us to drop you off at the Stewarts?” Willow asked.  
“That would be great, thank you.”


	21. Chapter 21

Willow had been showing Brydee the basics of what she needed done at the gym, it was fairly simple but tedious, she could see why Willow was falling behind with it.  
“Okay cool I’ll get stuck into it, I shouldn’t have any issues so go off and boss people around.” Brydee teased.  
“When I get back from the morning boot camp session we need to talk, okay?” Willow asked.  
“Oh god, what am I in the dog house for now?” Brydee asked.  
“You’re not in the dog house, I just need some things cleared up. I’ll be back in an hour.” Willow said before running off.  
Brydee felt nervous about whatever Willow wanted to discuss, last night for the most part was a blur, she couldn’t quite piece together everything she had exploded about. Maybe Willow was about to go off at her about how she spoke to Alex. She wouldn’t blame her in the slightest, she had been out of line.  
Before she could go into complete panic mode a knock on the gym door distracted her.  
Mac popped her head in. “Hey, I’m sorry to disturb you, Willow told me you’d be in here and I just thought instead of sitting on it all day I would just rip the bandaid off.” Mackenzie flustered out.  
“Hey, no come on in, I wanted to apologize.” Brydee told her.  
“I also wanted to apologize.” Mac smiled at her.  
“I know I should have stayed and explained but everything just got away from me.” Brydee started to say.  
“I shouldn’t have brought up Dean, I-”  
“No, you’re allowed to talk about your… brother. I just, really didn’t see that coming. It was one of those rug pulling moments.” Brydee cut her off.  
“Right, I know and I’m so sorry.” Mac emphasized.  
“Mac seriously. You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m not upset or hurt by you whatsoever. I feel like an idiot for breaking the glass and running. It wasn’t my best moment.” Brydee said, dipping her head in shame.  
“Well hey if you aren’t upset at me then how about we just move on, forget it happened and continue being friends?” Mac suggested.  
“Yeah I’d love that.” Brydee breathed out a sigh of relief.  
“We still need to hit the town remember.” Mac winked at her.  
Brydee laughed. “I’m glad we met Mackenzie, truly.” Brydee was honest with her.  
“Me too, I should head back upstairs but whenever you want to hang or if you need a friend, I’m here.” Mac offered sincerely.  
“Thanks Mac, back at ya.” Brydee smiled warmly at her before Mac took off back upstairs.

Brydee was flying through all the paperwork, she was thankful Willow had a good system going, she was just not able to find the time to keep on schedule. She had just finished up a draft of the next set of rosters when Willow came back inside.  
“Hey so I got bored and did up a draft roster for you. I hope you don’t mind, I put myself on it a couple of days so I could help you with the paperwork. It’s all done by the way.” Brydee smiled proudly at her.  
“What? That's great! I absolutely would be thrilled if you could help out, seriously, I just don’t have the time for the boring stuff. You’re a lifesaver.” Willow told her.  
“Well, you seem joyed. I’m not sure if that makes me more worried about what you wanted to talk about..” Brydee trailed off.  
“Right, yeah.. Maybe we could go for a walk?” Willow offered.  
“Sure.” Brydee nodded. 

“You mentioned last night that you had 12 people killed yesterday..” Willow put out there. Brydee’s blood went cold. She hadn’t even realized she had said that. Shit.  
She sighed. “I can’t disclose anything, I’m sorry. I didn’t go on a murder spree if that’s what you’re wondering.” Brydee told her.  
“No, no of course not. I assume it has to do with Lance and why you’ve been meeting up with Jasmine so much.” Willow speculated.  
Brydee nodded. “It is. So I hope you understand why I can’t say anything. I was foolish for snapping and saying that, I don’t even remember doing that to be honest.” Brydee scrunched her forehead up trying to remember.  
“Last night must have been rough on you.” Willow concluded.  
“Just a bit.” Brydee laughed.  
“I’m glad Alex found you. You two seem to get along well.” Willow noted.  
“Yeah, she understood what had happened. I guess it helps that we’ve all been through hell and can sympathize. She’s special though, I’ve never seen you happier.” Brydee stated.  
“So you approve?” Willow asked, Brydee hadn’t even thought that question needed to be answered, of course she approved.  
“Of course I approve, she’s kind, smart and beautiful and by the looks of things she treats you right and makes you happy. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy Will.” Brydee stated, knocking her arm into Willow’s. Smiling at her.  
“I am happy. Part of me was worried when I saw you. That you would take offence to me being with a woman-” Willow started.  
“Hey, woah, no. Absolutely not. Jesus Will.” Brydee shook her head and continued. “Thank god Alex has come along, the assholes you’ve been dating have clearly messed with you. Why would I ever take offence? Because you didn’t realize well into adulthood that you liked women? Who could blame you, society sucks. We grew up, I knew to respect your boundaries. I would never have tried to pressure you. Like I said, all I wanted was for you to be happy. I’m perfectly happy being your best friend, always was, always will be.” Brydee said, wrapping the woman in a hug.  
Willow smiled, she forgot how easy it was to be around Brydee.  
“Speaking of Alex, I think she wanted to catch up with you. She was pretty worried when we dropped you off last night.” Willow admitted.  
“I’ll text her, I’m sorry for worrying you both.”  
“Don’t be, you had every right to feel how you did, I can’t even begin to imagine.” Willow squeezed the girls hand.

Not long after Brydee had text Alex, they planned to meet when she got another text saying she had been called in. Brydee decided to bring the woman a coffee.  
When she got to the hospital she took note of just how frazzled Alex was, the doctor noticed her and her face lit up.  
“Hey, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you.” Alex said.  
“I couldn’t allow you to face this shift without copious amounts of coffee.” Brydee handed her the cup.  
“Ugh, you’re a lifesaver. I actually have a couple of minutes spare if you wanted to still catch up?” Alex offered.  
“Yeah, sure.” They walked into Alex’s office, Brydee noticed that the headboard said “Alexandra” and she couldn’t help but awe at the woman.  
“What?” Alex chuckled at the face Brydee was making.  
“Nothing, your name. It’s just so cute is all.” Brydee admitted.  
“Why thank you, if I had it my way I would have just put Alex but they like to be official.” Alex shrugged. Brydee smiled at her.  
“Willow told me you were worried, I’m sorry.” Brydee apologized.  
“No, don’t apologize. I just wanted to make sure you bounced back okay. I got the feeling like you didn’t want us to leave..” Alex admitted.  
“Yeah, guess I didn’t want to be alone. You two aren’t the worst company.” Brydee teased.  
Alex laughed. “Did Willow get the answers she was looking for?” She asked.  
“I think so, yeah. I’m sorry if I scared you. I don’t really have much memory of the things I said if I’m being honest.” Brydee said.  
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay. Did Willow seem okay to you? She was quiet this morning.” Alex asked.  
Brydee sighed. “She’s been worried about how I would react to the two of you, I told her there was nothing to worry about, all I’ve ever wanted is for to be happy, which she is. But I’m not sure it got through to her, I think she feels guilty that she never gave us a chance. I think she forgets that she had no idea back then that she may or may not have had feelings for me. It doesn’t help that Justin and Dean put her through the ringer.” Brydee confided.  
“What do you mean?” Alex asked, tilting her head.  
“I’ve been here a few days and I know the low down on all of that drama, you don’t?” Brydee asked.  
“No, I guess not.” Alex admitted.  
“From what I took away from it they’ve just made her second guess herself. The Willow I grew up with would have never doubted that all I wanted was for her to be happy. There’s little things I notice about her that I know must have been caused due to toxic relationships.” Brydee shrugged not sure how to explain further.  
“I think I understand what you mean. When she wanted to come out to Dean and Colby, she tried and failed a few times and she assumed I was angry or disappointed in her and that couldn’t have been further from what I actually felt.” Alex said, nodding her head. She had also seen signs of past toxic behaviours.  
“Hey,” Brydee walked over to Alex and squeezed her arm. “I’m glad she found you.” Brydee admitted.  
Alex blushed. “Thanks, I’m glad you found your way back to her. I imagine out of all the chaos Colby and Dean brought you were the calm and good influence on her.” Alex said quietly.  
“Calm and good? That doesn’t sound like me.” Brydee joked.  
“Well if you look past the brat..” Alex said with an amused smile on her face. Brydee stood there, stunned.  
“I’ll have you know- I- W- yeah, no yeah you got me, I’m a brat.” Brydee admitted throwing her hands up. They both laughed until their cheeks hurt. Brydee sighed.  
“I hope you know that I would never do anything to hurt your relationship with Willow. I know I can be a handful and if I ever over step please don’t hesitate to pull me up on it. Willow and I have just always been close and half the time I don’t even think about- sorry. I’m rambling. I just want you to know I would never intentionally cause harm or disarray to either of you.” Brydee finished.  
“Trust me when I say I know and I believe you. She’s lucky to have you, your love is real and pure and dirty jokes aside, innocent. I know you aren’t a threat, I know you want what’s best for her and for some reason you seem to think I’m that, which, thank you.” Alex said, blushing slightly from embarrassment.  
“No need to thank me, you’re kind of amazing so it would be fairly hard to dislike you.” Brydee tried to defuse Alex’s embarrassment. Alex shook her head, laughing at the woman.


	22. Chapter 22

“Bells!” Willow called out. She had brought the young girl over some pizza. She heard sluggish sounding footsteps.  
“Can you hurry up?!” Willow was getting impatient.  
“Alright alright.” Bella said, opening the door.  
“Thank you, the pizza was going cold.” Willow opened the box and grabbed herself a slice.  
“Where’s Alex? Don’t you two usually spend every waking moment together?” Bella asked.  
Willow finished chewing. “She was supposed to meet up with Brydee but she got called in.” Willow shrugged.  
“Brydee?! As in, has been in love with you since you were kids, Brydee?” Bella asked, well Willow would have said she yelled but there was a question in there.  
Willow sighed. “Yes, that Brydee, don’t start Bells, she’s a good person and she’s my friend.”  
Bella scoffed. “Well, I don’t trust her.”  
“She figured as much.” Willow retorted.  
“Good. She knows I’m onto her.” Bella said, crossing her arms.  
“There’s nothing to be onto her about Bella. Just, chill okay?” Willow asked.  
“Fine, but if I get a whiff of funny business-”  
“Yeah yeah you’ll go full Bella on her I’m sure.” Willow said, cutting her off.  
“Actually, I just remembered I need to be somewhere.” Bella piped up.  
“What? I just got here.” Willow stated.  
“Sorry, life of a teenager!” Bella yelled as she walked out the door.

Bella caught the next bus to the hospital. She was going to check and make sure Alex really had gone to work. She trusted Alex but Brydee was another story. She made her way into the hospital. She walked up to the nurses station.  
“Hi, I’m after Doctor Neilson.” Bella said.  
“She’s just on her break at the moment, she shouldn’t be too much longer.” The nurse smiled at her.  
Bella went for a walk down the hall, if she was here she was most likely in her office.  
She heard laughter before she got to the door. Bella shook her head. She knew it. They were in there, together. She burst through the door.  
“I KNEW IT!” She yelled.  
Brydee had whipped around, ready to attack. Alex had jumped a mile, she became frozen in fear and walked herself back into the wall. Brydee realized it was just Bella who had screamed when she heard Alex hit the wall behind them. She looked at the doctor and saw pure horror. The scream had startled her, probably triggering her trauma.  
“Bella, go get some water from the fountain outside, please.” Brydee asked.  
“I don’t think so. I caught-” Bella started.  
“Bella I really don’t give a fuck what you have to say, you sent Alex into shock, go get some fucking water!” Brydee was livid. The young girl hadn’t changed one bit, actually no, Brydee thinks she has gotten worse.  
“Alex, it’s me, Brydee. You’re okay, it was just Bella. Doing god knows what but you’re okay.” Brydee tried to soothe the doctor.  
“No. No. What if they come back?” Alex started crying.  
Bella came back in with some water, Brydee grabbed it off the girl and handed it to Alex.  
“Hey, try and have little sips for me, please.” Brydee asked.  
She turned around and hauled Bella backwards out of the room.  
“Wait out there.” She demanded.  
“I don’t have to listen to you.” Bella sneered.  
Brydee pulled out her phone, she wasn’t putting up with this.  
“Colby, yeah it’s Brydee, Bella came barging into Alex’s office scaring the hell out of her, she’s not doing too well and Bella is causing a scene, I need you to come and get her.” She hung up the phone before he could even answer. She pointedly looked at Bella before walking back into the room. Alex looked up at her when she re entered the room.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that, I don’t even know what happened.” Alex said.  
“Alex please, after what happened yesterday, I completely understand. Plus, someone coming in here screaming at you, of course it was going to set you off. It’s okay.” Brydee said.  
“I’m so scared that they are going to come back. Some days I hate being here.” Alex admitted.  
“I know. Alex, I’m going to tell you something. I need you to promise it won’t leave us. You can tell Willow, she partly knows already but nobody else okay?” Brydee asked. Alex nodded at her.  
“They’re dead. Every one of Victor’s men, including the four that were here, even the corrupt cop. They’re all dead, Alex. They won’t be coming back, ever.” Brydee said making a point to look into Alex’s eyes. She watched the horror turn into shock turn into relief.  
“Really?” Alex breathed quietly.  
“Really. They took out multiple officers and survillians, their gang needed to be taken care of. I had the power to make it happen.” Brydee explained.  
Alex looked at her in half shock half awe. “Thank you. I.. I know you didn’t do it for me but thank you.” She finished.  
“I did it for all of us.” Brydee confirmed. “I should call Willow.”  
“No, it’ll only worry her and she’s been through enough she doesn-” Alex started saying.  
“Alex, Willow loves you, she wants to be here for you. Plus with she devil outside I’m sure she already has some twisted story.” Brydee squeezed her hand. Alex hadn’t even pieced together what Bella had screamed at them, she just heard the scream and panicked.  
“Wait, what do you mean some twisted story?” Alex asked.  
“When Bella came in screaming she said “I knew it” which indicates that she thought there was something to catch. Like I’ve said before, she doesn’t trust me. Will you be okay for a few minutes, I need to make sure Colby is on his way.” Brydee asked.  
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Could you bring me back some more water please?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah of course.” Brydee said as she left the room.

Colby rounded the corner.  
“What the hells going on?” Colby asked.  
Bella started talking but Brydee cut her off.  
“Alex and I were having coffee in her office when this one barges in screaming “I knew it” and sent Alex into shock, she wasn’t doing well already in the hospital and Bella had to go and make it worse.” Brydee told Colby.  
“That’s not fair! You two were totally up to something! Colby, they were.” Bella falsely claimed.  
Brydee shook her head. “I’ve gotta call Willow.” She said before walking off to a quieter place.  
Willow answered fairly quickly. “Hey, What’s up?”  
“You didn’t happen to send the she devil my way did you?” Brydee asked, trying to keep the tone light.  
“What? Oh you mean Bella? Uh, no, why?” Willow asked.  
“She basically kicked down Alex’s office door and started screaming, she sent Alex into shock, she’s okay now but it shook her up that’s for sure. Bella is going on and on. Alex didn’t want to worry you but I thought with Bella on the loose it was definitely going to get back to you and a twisted version no less.” Brydee finished.  
Willow sighed. “I’m sorry, I did mention you two were going to meet up. I didn’t think she’d book it to the hospital. Should I come up?” Willow asked.  
“I think she’s embarrassed enough, maybe just pamper her when she gets home later.” Brydee suggested.  
“Ooh, good plan.” Willow praised. “Thanks for taking care of her.” Willow added.  
“No problem. Although you may want to make sure Colby has words with Bella, that wasn’t okay. I know she doesn’t understand but-” Brydee tried calming herself. Willow could feel the woman’s anger over the phone.  
“I’ll talk to them both, okay?” Willow reassured her.  
“Okay, I should get back in there. I need to deliver water, I've apparently become a maid.” Brydee tried to joke to ease the tension.  
“Alright, thanks again, B.” Willow said quietly.

Brydee brought Alex a bottle of water and sat down with the woman.  
“We’ve gotta stop meeting like this.” Brydee said, winking playfully at the doctor.  
Alex huffed out a laugh. “I’m hoping this run of bad luck has come and gone now. We deserve a break.” The doctor stated.  
“I’ll drink to that.” Brydee said and raised her own bottle of water, they clinked bottles and drank.  
“So what, Bella thought we were in here doing something we shouldn’t be?” Alex asked.  
“Apparently so. She’s adamant, I’m sorry.” Brydee said quietly.  
“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You brought me a coffee after I bailed on catching up.” Alex shook her head. “I get what you were saying now, I mean I saw how she treated Mac but I thought that was just a one off, Mac hurt Colby so Bella hated her and I get it, I don’t condone the lengths she went to but I get why she felt protective, but this, there is no logic behind it at all.” Alex said mildly confused.  
“What kind of lengths are we talking?” Brydee asked, intrigued. Alex had made it sound like something had happened, something Brydee definitely wasn’t aware of.  
“You can’t tell anyone, especially Colby.” Alex stated.  
“Hold on something happened and he doesn’t know about it?” Brydee was confused.  
Alex sighed. “Right after the breakup, Dean and Willow found Bella pouring petrol all over Mac’s bar after hours. Luckily they got to her before she started a fire, it could have ended very badly.” Alex shivered at the thought.  
“She…. tried torching Mac’s restaurant?” Brydee asked, bewildered.  
“Yeah, Colby had it tough so they sorted it out themselves.” Alex told her.  
Brydee opened and closed her mouth a few times. Unable to find words.  
“I know. It’s pretty shocking. Scary to think she is capable of such a thing.” Alex found the words Brydee couldn’t.  
“I can’t believe they didn’t tell him. Alex, he needs to know this.” Brydee told her.  
“As much as I think you’re right, I can’t break Willow’s trust like that.” Alex said honestly.  
Brydee sighed, Alex was right it would be a massive breach of trust. But to attempt to burn a place to the ground over a breakup? That was overkill.  
“Clearly Bella’s years with her dad didn’t improve on who she was before that. At least as kids Colby was there to settle her down. I can’t imagine living alone with him for so long. She needs some serious help.” Brydee finished.  
“Well after she overdosed on some pills during the siege I had Colby try and get her help but once she was out of my care she stopped saying yes and put up a fight. Colby thought it would be easier to try and help her himself than try and force her to seek professional help.” Alex told her.  
Brydee shook her head. “I think we need to have a long talk with him. She’s going to end up hurting herself or someone else.” Brydee sighed.


	23. Chapter 23

“I’m telling you, they looked real cosy in there.” Bella stated.  
“Bella they’re friends, I’ve seen the way Alex looks at Willow. She would never do anything to hurt her.” Colby defended.  
“It’s not Alex I don’t trust! Brydee has always had a thing for Willow! It wouldn’t surprise me if she tried ruining their relationship through Alex.” Bella huffed.  
“You need to let it go, we were moving past this sort of obsessive behaviour Bell, please.” Colby practically begged.  
Bella started sulking. They made their way upstairs to find Willow waiting for them. Her arms were crossed. “Do you want to tell me why you were screaming at my girlfriend?” Willow asked.  
“I heard them all chumy and laughing, they were up to something I know they were.” Bella stated.  
Willow sighed. “Bells they were just having coffee, Brydee had a horrible night last night and both Alex and I have been worried about her. I caught up with her earlier and I asked Brydee to check in with Alex as well. This isn’t some coup, they were just catching up. Besides, Brydee lost her Fiance a month ago, she is in pain and grieving. The last thing she needs is you speculating an-” Willow tried to finish saying.  
“Yeah well Brydee didn’t hesitate to swoop in and save the day.” Bella spat.  
“What do you mean?” Colby asked.  
“Well when Alex got scared Brydee ran towards her and started comforting her-” Bella started.  
“You do realize that’s a normal response to have, right?” Colby asked almost amused. Willow nodded in agreement.  
“Ugh. She practically threw me out of the room and demanded I get water for Alex, who knows what she was doing while I was gone!” Bella shouted.  
“Bella, calm down, both Alex and Brydee have had bad days. I can guarantee you that they were just helping each other out. There’s nothing more to it. I trust them both.” Willow stated.  
“Yeah well I don’t.” Bella said before slamming her door shut after her.  
Willow shook her head in disbelief. “Colby-”  
“I know, let’s just let her calm down first.” He said.

Alex was so ready for the day to be over with, she went to unlock her door when it flew open in front of her, causing her to flinch.  
“Hey, oh, I’m sorry. Shit. I didn’t think, I just wanted to cook you dinner.” Willow apologized for scaring the woman.  
“It’s okay I und- wait you are cooking dinner?” Alex couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  
“Yes, don’t give me that look.” Willow said as Alex was trying to hold back a smirk.  
“I appreciate this, thank you. You didn’t have to.” Alex said.  
“Well a certain someone may have suggested I pamper you after hurricane Bella today..” Willow trailed off.  
“Ah. Yeah that was something. I didn’t even realize what had happened, I had to ask Brydee. Can you believe she just jumped to conclusions. We were just having coffee.” Alex said, shaking her head.  
“Yeah, I get it, she’s protective of me. But it was uncalled for.” Willow said.  
“There’s protective and then there’s Bella, it was completely uncalled for.” Alex sighed.  
“I told her to back off and Colby plans on talking with her.” Willow continued.  
Alex took a swig of wine. She was almost positive Colby wasn’t going to be able to stop Bella from causing problems. He hadn’t thus far.  
“You know what’s funny?” Alex said.  
“Hm?”  
“Brydee had just finished telling me how she would never do anything to hurt our relationship. That she was glad you had found me.” Alex finished.  
Willow chuckled. “So Bella definitely read the situation wrong then.”  
Alex paused, did Willow not believe her?  
“Of course she did. You don’t think I would ever do that to you, do you?” Alex asked, mildly hurt.  
“What? No! Of course not. I’m sorry.” Willow said reaching up to tuck a strand of Alex’s hair behind her ear. “I trust you. Bella can just be full on and sometimes the stories she spins can have some half truths in them, of course I would never doubt you.” Willow said honestly.  
Alex let go of the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.  
“I’m sorry, today has just been..” Alex trailed off.  
“Yep, it’s been one of those days. So, put your feet up. I’m going to take good care of you.” Willow whispered, kissing Alex on the cheek.

Brydee was pacing back and forth with Ryder and Roo watching from the couch.  
“I just can’t believe it, I thought with age she might have matured a little. But no, she’s the same old Bella, even worse.” Brydee said.  
“Maybe you should sit down, have a cup of tea?” Roo suggested.  
“No. I’m too wired. I need to let off steam. Actually I might go to the gym.” Brydee said before storming out the door.  
“Well, that was something.” Ryder said, stunned.  
“Would you go after her? Make sure she doesn’t get herself into trouble?” Roo asked him.  
“Sure, but I’m not sure there’s much I could do if she wanted to cause trouble, she’s also a cop so.. Can she even get in trouble?” Ryder asked.  
“Just go would you.” Roo finished.

“You know the gym will be closing soon right?” Ryder asked when he caught up with her.  
“I’ll just have to make the most of the time I have. Want to hold the punching bag for me?” She asked him.  
“Would I like to? No. Will I anyway, yes.” Ryder said, smiling at her.  
Brydee put the gloves offered on and started punching.  
“Wow, you sure pack a punch.” Ryder breathed out between punches.  
“Want to swap?” Brydee asked.  
“What? Me, punch this?” Ryder looked at her amused.  
“Yeah, you could use some muscle.” Brydee noted.  
“I prefer surfing.” Ryder shrugged.  
“You know to actually be good at surfing you need to have some muscle right?” She asked him.  
Ryder looked at her seriously. “Maybe I’ll have a go, yeah.”  
They spent close to an hour together, essentially training. Ryder needed help with his form which Brydee was more than happy to help with. By the end of the hour Ryder actually put a few good throws behind him.  
“Look out, couple more of those and you’ll be able to take me on.” Brydee joked.  
Ryder laughed along with her. “Maybe if you were in a hospital bed.” He jibed back. Brydee was glad to see the kid could have a laugh at himself. He knew what his strengths and weaknesses were.  
“You know if you ever did want to give me some pointers I’d be down. I got my ass handed to me not long ago.” Ryder admitted.  
“Alright, I’ll put that on my list. Help Ryder learn to fight so he doesn’t get his ass handed to him again.” Brydee smiled and put him in a playful headlock.  
“Good to see you two haven’t killed each other.” Roo said, causing both of them to stumble over.  
“Didn’t trust I could keep her out of trouble?” Ryder asked, pretending to be hurt.  
“No, I just got bored waiting for the both of you to come home.” Roo said, shrugging.  
“Home..” Brydee said, not realizing she had said it out loud.  
Ryder and Roo looked at her like she was about to break, she didn’t blame them she hadn’t had the best couple of days.  
“If you want it to be.” Ryder said, quietly. Roo looked like someone had smacked her over the head. She looked at Ryder as if he were crazy. Brydee watched Roo closely.  
“You don’t want that.” Brydee stated to Roo. Roo hadn’t noticed the girl watching her until those words came out.  
She sighed and laughed. “No, it’s just, I never thought I’d see the day Ryder became selfless. Of course I want you to stay, it’s been wonderful having you and I really hope mum and dad get to meet you.” Roo finished. Ryder laughed, boy was that going to be fun.  
“I’m not sure it’s selfless if he gets something out of it.” Brydee said.  
“Oi, I totally like having you around, the other benefits are just a bonus.” Ryder grinned.  
“Alright, I’m not following, what’s going on.” Roo asked.  
“Nothing, I just offered to help Ryder with some stuff.” Brydee answered.  
Roo looked at them both skeptically.  
Ryder rolled his eyes. “Just trust that we aren’t getting into trouble, you’ll admit Brydee is a better influence than most of the people I’ve associated with lately, right?” Ryder said. Brydee knew Roo was going to play right into his hand. She had to give Ryder credit. He was smart.  
Little did either of them know, Roo knew very well Brydee would be a good influence on him and vice versa, they both played into her hands.  
“I guess you’re right. Listen, mum and dad get home tomorrow, I was hoping to finally do that family dinner? We could introduce Brydee and hopefully get dad drunk enough to not make a fuss that we invited her to live with us without asking him.” Roo offered, she seemed nervous.  
“I’m guessing I am going to get a talking to.” Brydee concluded.  
“Nah, Roo maybe but you are cool, grumps will see that.” Ryder assured her. Roo rolled her eyes.  
“He has rules but I don’t think you’ll be too bothered by them.” Roo explained.  
“Right, I did train in the police academy so I’m used to rules.” Brydee said.  
“Great, dinner tomorrow and we get to induct Brydee into the Stewart family!” Ryder smiled from ear to ear.  
Roo watched Brydee slowly smile, the thought of actually having a family made her feel hopeful.


	24. Chapter 24

The next morning Brydee found herself up bright and early on the beach, she had decided to see just how good Ryder was with a board. He was mediocre at best but the kid had spirit. She hadn’t surfed in what felt like forever, she loved too when she was younger mainly though she just followed Jai in whatever he was doing. So naturally when he died she didn’t find herself out there much.  
“Hey! You got this one or can I?” Ryder asked pointing towards the big swell coming up behind them. She smiled at his enthusiasm, she remembered why surfing could be fun.  
“You take it, you’ve got an audience so you better impress!” Brydee said, she had noticed Bella stop and watch them both. She didn’t look happy. Brydee felt the wave come and go underneath her. She looked over and found Ryder eyeing her.  
“You okay?” He asked, paddling over to her.  
“Yeah, just..” Brydee didn’t want to explain how much the kid had gotten to her.  
“Bella. Yeah. You know we were friends in school? We still were after I finished but she took Jade’s word over mine. I don’t particularly feel like forgiving her for the slap across the face. What I’m trying to say is, I’ve got your back.” Ryder said, looking her in the eyes. Her face softened at his sentiment.  
“Thanks Ryder, I’ve got yours too.” She held out her fist. He looked at it and his face lit up like a kid in a candy store. He bumped her fist with his own.  
“Sweet. Race you back?” He asked.  
“You’re on.” She grinned back.  
She watched him out of the corner of his eye, paddling hard as ever just trying to keep up with her. She knew now why Jai would always slow down and make it a fair fight, he was a way better surfer than she was, he was better at a lot but he always made her feel included. As she watched Ryder she recognized that same feeling she had felt when hanging out with her brother, she was almost positive Ryder would offer to do anything she wanted. She felt a tear trickle down her cheek. She purposefully capsized to hide her tears. She composed herself and met him on the shore.  
“Don’t worry Devin, you’ll beat me eventually.” Ryder smirked at her.  
“You know usually only my officers use my last name, want me to whip you into shape like I do them?” She jested at him. He laughed. His face dropped, Brydee didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know that it was Bella who was approaching.  
“Oh hey Bella! Did you hear? Jade got done in for stealing oh and she was proven guilty of filming and uploading the video without my consent.” Ryder threw at her.  
It had the desired outcome, Bella halted her march towards them.  
“Oh.” Bella said. She looked at her feet. “I’m sorr-”  
“Don’t bother, I don’t need people in my life who don’t take me at my word. Come on Brydee let’s go.” Ryder said. Brydee was impressed. Bella looked completely stunned. Brydee had been temporarily saved from whatever shit storm was awaiting her with Bella.  
As they walked back towards Salt they bumped into Alex.  
“Brydee! Hey, Hi Ryder. I’m glad I bumped into you, I wanted to ask if you wanted to have dinner tonight with Willow and I, to say thanks you know, yesterday and every other time.” Alex said, chuckling to herself.  
“Alex you don’t need to do that, you’ve helped me loads too.” Brydee said.  
“I know but I’m pretty sure we could all use a drink.” Alex said.  
Brydee sighed. “As much as I’d love to, Roo wants to do a family dinner, Alf and Martha get back today and she kinda wants to make a big deal-” Brydee explained.  
“Oh, that’s way more important! They’re both wonderful people, you’ll love them. Maybe some other time? Or hey maybe if dinner wraps up early you could join us for drinks after?” Alex suggested.  
“I won’t promise anything but if dinner ends early I’ll join you both, I’ll text you either way.” Brydee said.  
“Sounds good, I should get going, busy day. Bye.” Alex waved goodbye to them both.  
Brydee turned to follow Ryder inside.  
“Not so fast.” Brydee cringed. God she couldn’t get rid of her. “I know what you’re doing.”  
“Bella-” Brydee started.  
“No, you listen. They are perfect for each other and I won’t have you come in and destroy that.” Bella had gotten in her face.  
“I don’t plan on destroying anything. I care about Willow. I would never intentionally hurt her.” Brydee defended herself.  
“Admit it, you’ve always loved Willow. You want her.” Bella was extremely close to her, too close. Brydee put her hands up to make space between the two of them, Bella pushed them aside and got back in her face.  
“Bella, take a hint, leave.” Ryder tried stepping in.  
“Seriously Bella, back off.” Brydee wasn’t about to let some kid bully her.  
“Or what? Huh, you can’t do anything to me.” Bella sneered. “Leave town, or else.” She continued.  
“Excuse me?” Brydee took a step forward, Bella didn’t budge so their bodies collided. Bella stumbled back a little. “I don’t take kindly to being threatened so I suggest you back off, go annoy someone else.” Brydee finished. Bella’s eye twitched, she wasn’t use to people defending themselves against her.  
She got back in Brydee’s face. “You don’t want to mess with me.” She whispered with venom.  
“Bella?” Colby’s voice came from outside. Brydee watched as Bella’s mask slipped. Instead of putting on her scary face she went innocent.  
“Colby! Thank god you’re here.” Bella feigned.  
“Everything okay?” Colby asked, looking more at Brydee.  
“Just Bella getting her wires crossed, no big. Let’s go eat Ryder.” Brydee cut in before Bella could drone on. She didn’t care what she told Colby, she got the feeling he knew she wasn’t the one starting the altercation. Ryder had also witnessed what had happened so she felt pretty confident the kid couldn’t muster up too much of an elaborate story. 

“She has it out for you.” Ryder told Brydee over breakfast. Brydee had a face full of food so she merely nodded at the boy.  
“You want to be careful, Bella isn’t like other people. She can be pretty scary.” Ryder confided.  
“So can I.” Brydee said.  
“I don’t doubt that, as someone who has recently had everyone manipulated against them, I just don’t want to see it happen to you.” He admitted.  
Brydee looked up at him. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I should take her more seriously.” Brydee said.  
Ryder nodded. “So what’s she angry about? I’m guessing it’s tied to Alex and Willow?”  
“Yeah, they’ve both been in my life a lot since coming here, we’ve grown fairly close. Willow was my best friend growing up so it makes sense but I guess Bella sees my new friendship with Alex threatening.” Brydee concluded.  
“You like either of them?” Ryder straight up asked.  
“I’ve always had feelings for Willow, it’s sort of blurry now, there’s love there sure but I think it’s just a friendship sort of love. People seem to forget I love Lance, I was engaged to him, that love doesn’t just go away, even now he’s gone I can’t stop loving him. I’m not sure I could move on anytime soon, least of all with Willow. I respect them both too much. Don’t get me wrong they are both amazing, I just wouldn’t want to go there even if I did have feelings. I’m used to burying my feelings.” Brydee shrugged. Maybe she should have just told Bella that. She wasn’t sure Bella would have understood though. Plus, it was so much easier admitting her thoughts and feelings to Ryder. She trusted him on another level.  
She saw Colby walk up the stairs and straight towards them. She sighed.  
“Let me guess you’re here to yell at me?” Brydee said.  
“No, after everything Bella has done recently.. She doesn’t have my complete trust. I wanted to ask you what happened.” Colby admitted.  
“Well, she threatened me.” Colby pinched the bridge of his nose. “She told me to leave town, or else. Colby she thinks she’s untouchable. She needs help.” Brydee finished.  
“I know, she doesn’t mean it.” Colby defended her.  
“You’re kidding right?” Brydee stood up and walked Colby outside leaving Ryder alone at the table. “Colby, she tried to burn this place down.” Brydee told him. She watched the shock of what she had told him sink in and then disbelief.  
“No she didn’t.” He said, It was a knee jerk reaction. He shook his head, he knew deep down she was telling the truth.  
“Mac doesn’t know. I’m not supposed to know but she did. Ask Dean.” Brydee said. She was internally panicking. She hadn’t meant to betray Alex’s trust but Brydee also couldn’t sit by and let this kid threaten people. She tried to keep Willow out of it by throwing Dean under the bus.  
Colby was still silent, completely stunned.  
“Colby, she needs help, serious help. I went through Irene’s case, I saw the statements. She handled it like a professional covering it up. How did that not set off red alarms man? Put on top nearly burning this place down, oh and the only reason it didn’t burn down was because Dean caught her. She then overdosed on drugs to get your attention. Threatened me just now. Colby…” Brydee trailed off. She was at her wits end, how could he not see how bad it was.  
“You’re right, it’s just hard. She won’t get help and she’s 17 I can’t make her Brydee.” Colby sounded so defeated. He cared about his sister but there was only so much he could do.  
“Hey, why don’t we sit down. Have a coffee and some brekky, on me. You need to take care of yourself as well Colby.” She said, sitting him down. He looked exhausted.  
“Hey is Mackenzie in today?” She had walked up to the bar to ask after the woman.  
“Yeah she’s just bringing in a delivery.” The young man replied.  
Brydee nipped downstairs and sure enough the woman was chatting kindly to the delivery guy.  
“Mac, hey, sorry to interrupt, can we talk?” Brydee asked.  
“Hi, it’s all good I should probably let him get back to it. Thank you.” She said smiling at the delivery guy. “What’s up?” She asked.  
“I just dropped some heavy stuff on Colby, I’m just about to order him a coffee and some food but I was hoping you might keep him company?” Brydee asked. She turned on her best puppy dog eyes.  
“Oh stop it, you know I don’t mind you don’t have to turn on the charm.” Mac said.  
“Thank you thank you.”  
“What did you drop on him?” Mac asked.  
“Some stuff I can’t say, but mainly it’s Bella. She threatened me.” Brydee told her what she could.  
“Right, been there.” Mac huffed. “Don’t worry about breakfast, it’s on me.”  
“Ah, see, I knew you were the right person to go to.” Brydee said, giving her a dashing smile.  
“Oh compliments and dazzling smiles, it’s like you think that works on me.” Mac teased her.  
“I’m sorry, who is the one doing exactly what I asked and on the house too, hm?” Brydee said, winking.  
“You still owe me that drink, you can make it two now.” Mac told her.  
Brydee picked up one of the crates. “Oh nooo, poor me. Where do you want this?” Brydee asked.  
“Follow me.” Mac directed them upstairs and behind the bar. “Hey can I get a flat white and some bacon and eggs for Colby, just over on table five. No charge.” Mac asked her staff.  
“Hey, I’ve gotta go, I’ve got some things I need to sort. Are you going to be okay with Colby?” Brydee asked Mac.  
“Yeah I’ll be fine, go do what you need to.” Mac said ,smiling at her.


	25. Chapter 25

Brydee tried calling Alex but she kept getting her voice mail. Brydee left her a message.  
“Hey Alex, it’s Brydee when you get this can you give me a call, it’s semi urgent. Thanks.”  
She had wanted to give the doctor a heads up on the fact that she had told Colby, Willow would know that Dean wouldn’t have been the one to tell her. Brydee decided her best option would just be to go to the hospital and explain to Alex there. As Brydee was walking out of the surf club she heard a familiar voice call out to her.  
“Hey, you’re up early.” Willow said, smiling at her. Brydee instantly felt guilty, she was hoping things didn’t explode with Bella, for Willow’s sake. Willow had just been trying to protect Bella, Brydee hoped that she would see that is what she was also trying to do.  
“Yeah Ryder convinced me to go for a surf.” She replied.  
“Decent surf?” Willow asked.  
“Yeah it wasn’t too bad. Ryder has potential.”  
“If I remember correctly you aren’t too bad yourself.” Willow said.  
“And I’m going to assume you still don’t surf at all.” Brydee said with a smile.  
“You’d be correct, I enjoy a good swim but that’s about it. We should go out there sometime.”  
“Will you at least try and get on a board?” Brydee asked.  
“Maybe, you always were a better teacher than the boys.” Willow laughed. “Oh I almost forgot, did Alex catch you? We wanted to invite you for dinner.” She continued.  
“She did yeah, Roo wants to do a family thing. I told her I would try and make it for drinks after.” Brydee shrugged apologetically.  
“Fair enough, I don’t think Alex is prepared for the both of us drinking.” Willow winked. “Anyway, I should get back to it.” Willow said, pointing to the gym bag she was carrying.  
Brydee chuckled. “Hopefully I’ll see you tonight.” She smiled before walking off.

Willow had been flat out for most of the day, she text Dean asking to see if he could bring her lunch. Not even 10 minutes later he rocked up with fish and chips.  
“Thank youu! You’re a life saver.” She said before devouring into the food.  
“It’s what we do, hey you haven’t heard from Colby today have you?” Dean asked. She shook her head. “No, why?”  
“Dunno, said he needed to talk.” Dean said, shaking his head.  
“Uh oh, sounds serious.” Willow joked. The smile faded from her lips when Colby stormed into the gym right at that moment.  
“Oi, where have you been? I’ve been calling you.” Colby asked Dean.  
“I’ve been busy I-” Dean started saying.  
“Is it true?” Colby said, both looked at him confused. “Bella, did she really try and burn down Salt?” He asked. Part of him wished Dean would say no, of course not. But Colby knew deep down what his answer would be.  
“Mate, listen.” Dean tried to say.  
“I-” Colby bunched his fist up and put it to his forehead. “I can’t believe you kept this from me! What the hell were you thinking?!” Colby demanded of Dean. Willow felt guilty, Colby was directing his anger at Dean, unaware Willow knew.  
“I had it handled, you were going through a tough time and I didn’t think you needed the extra stress. It’s cool, Bella ended up calming down and she hasn’t pulled a stunt like that since.” Dean shrugged.  
“Hasn’t- Dean, are you even listening to yourself?! She overdosed on pills for crying out loud! She tried to burn down Salt because Mac broke up with me. That’s- How could you keep this from me?” Colby looked and felt exhausted. Dean wasn’t about to throw Willow under the bus but she couldn’t stand by and watch him take the fall.  
“It wasn’t just Dean. We really did think we had a handle on it, I know she went a bit far but we kept a close eye on her Colby.” Willow said.  
“We?” Colby felt hurt. Both of them knew.  
“Mate..” Dean tried saying.  
“Don’t. You both knew. She could have been arrested! Do you not realize how serious this is?!” Colby threw his hands up in the air, he was at a loss.  
“Of course we do! Mate, we got up to way worse at her age.” Dean said.  
“That doesn’t make it any better, we did stupid shit sure, but intentionally burning someone’s restaraunt down because their brother was hurting? That’s not normal behaviour. Put on top of that the fact that she full on threatened Brydee this morning.” Colby sighed out a heavy breath.  
“Why? What’s Brydee got to do with this?” Dean asked.  
“You know what Bella’s like, she assumes Brydee is a threat to anyone Willow dates. She told her to leave town, or else.” Colby informed them.  
“Brydee was the one who told you about Salt?” Willow summed up.  
“Yep, she’s been in town 2 minutes and knows more about what’s going on than I do!” Colby spat. He gave up and left them both standing there stunned.  
Dean rounded on Willow. “How the hell did she find out?!” He aggressively whispered.  
“I have a good idea of who, I need to go.” Willow said, asking one of her staff to watch the gym for her.

Brydee had bit the bullet and gone to the hospital, she found Jasmine filling out some forms.  
“Hey Jas.” Brydee greeted her.  
“Hey, decided to stick around huh?” She asked.  
“Yeah, the Stewart’s have been kind to me and Roo and Ryder seem to want me to hang around so I thought, why not.” Brydee said, smiling.  
“Guessing you’re not here to see me though?” Jasmine assumed.  
“Correct, I’m after Alex?” She asked.  
“Right, she’s just in with a patient, it’s been really busy. Do you mind waiting?” Jasmine asked.  
“No of course not. Can you just let her know when she has a moment I need to have a quick chat with her.”  
“Will do.” Jasmine said.  
“Thanks Jas.” Brydee took a seat.  
30 minutes had gone by, Brydee had read most of the magazines on offer, she heard Alex giving instructions to the nurses. Alex popped her head around into the waiting area.  
“Hey, I’m so sorry, it’s been a nightmare in here-” Alex started saying.  
Brydee chuckled. “It’s okay, I understand-” Brydee was saying as the doors flew open. Another patient, they looked to be in bad shape. Alex sighed.  
“I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t sweat it, I’ll be here after you’ve finished saving lives. Go.” Brydee smiled at her before shooing her off. Alex smiled at her before putting on her game face.  
Brydee decided to go and get some snacks. Not long after Alex returned.  
“Do you mind if we chat in my office, I’m just..” Alex sounded defeated. Brydee felt a pang of hurt hit her in the stomach, Alex had lost the patient.  
“Yeah, of course.” They walked into her office, Alex slumped into her chair.  
“I’m sorry, I can’t even imagine how hard it is being a doctor.” Brydee told Alex.  
Alex gave her a small smile. “That obvious am I?”  
“No but I’ve been there. I want to say we have more control in my field but if something goes wrong and we don’t have a medic nearby, we are screwed. But for the most part, the tactical side of things, as long as we are smart we can always manage somehow. With you, if they are too bad once you get to them there’s really nothing you can do. It would be horrible facing worst case situations almost every day.” Brydee sympathized. She heard Alex breathe out a shaky sigh. “Some days are harder than others.” Alex nodded mostly to herself. She shook her head.  
“You wanted to talk to me?” She asked.  
It was Brydee’s turn to sigh. “Yeah, just after you left this morning Bella rocked up. She threatened me-”  
“What?” Alex had stood up.  
“Woah, calm down. Please, she’s a kid, I’m fine.” Brydee chuckled, she realized why she liked Alex, why she approved of her over anyone Willow had previously dated. She was loyal and fiercely loyal, Brydee respected that.  
“Right, sorry, I guess I’m a little more wired than usual after the few days I’ve had.” Alex said, sitting back down.  
“Okay well, try to remember I’m not the bad guy and I was only trying to help.” Brydee said with a grimace. She was worried Alex would be royally pissed off at her, not that she would blame her but for some reason she really didn’t want to let her down.  
Alex looked concerned. “Is everyone okay?” She asked.  
“Yeah, all good. I just… I told Colby. About Bella trying to torch Salt. I didn’t even really think, she threatened me and Colby wanted to know what happened and-” Brydee let out a breath. “She needs help, I’m sorry for breaking your trust but Ryder kind of made me see that Bella really needs help and Colby deserved to know but I didn’t intend on doing that it just happened and I’m sorry and I get that you’re-.” Brydee kept talking, she rambled when she was nervous.  
“Brydee, take a breath, you didn’t break my trust, it’s okay. I’m not upset or angry. In fact, I’m kind of relieved you did it. You’re right, he deserves to know and I should have been up front and honest with Willow when she told me. She’s a loose canon and she definitely needs professional help.” Alex said, calming the other woman.  
“I tried to pin it on Dean but I know Willow, she won’t let Dean take the fall all by himself.” Brydee told her.  
Alex sighed. “Thanks for letting me know, Wil-”  
“Talking about me huh?” Willow said. Both women jumped, they hadn’t heard her approaching.  
“Will-” Brydee started to say.  
“Don’t stop on my account, what were you discussing?” Willow said, Brydee was worried. She could hear the venom in her voice. Willow was angry.  
“How it was my fault, Bella finding out. That’s why you’re here right?” Brydee wasn’t going to let Willow take her anger out on Alex.  
“And you just had to come here, couldn’t have just left Alex a message. Maybe Bella has a point about you.” Willow spat. Brydee knew it was anger talking but it hurt nonetheless.  
“Alex didn’t answer-”  
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have rocked up here!” Willow yelled at her. It caused Brydee to flinch.  
“Willow, she didn’t mean any harm. She was worried she had broken my trust and-” Alex defended Brydee.  
“And she did. Because you told her right? About Bella and Salt?” Willow asked.  
“I did. And I had just finished telling her I was glad she told Colby, that I should have been honest with you when you told me. Colby needed to know, he needs to help his sister and if he doesn’t have all of the inform-” Alex was cut off.  
“Stop, just stop.” Willow said.  
“Willow,” Alex whispered. “No one meant any harm.”  
“Why do you keep defending her?” Willow snapped.  
“Because she did the right thing and she doesn’t deserve to be spoken to like-”  
“Oh so I’m the bad guy now?!” Willow yelled. Brydee stepped back in.  
“That’s enough. You’re angry, I get it. But don’t take it out on Alex.” Brydee said.  
Willow got up in her face. “Why? Don’t you enjoy acting like the hero?”  
“Because this, what’s happening, it’s what Bella wants. Except she wants you to be angry at me, not Alex. She wants to drive a wedge between us.” Brydee spoke the truth.  
“Willow, look at me.” Alex asked.  
Willow obliged, she had tears running down her face.  
“I’m sorry, after Bella scared the hell out of me in here it just sort of came out. It wasn’t like we were gossiping. I should have told you how I felt about keeping it from Colby but I understood why you wanted to spare him that. But she threatened Brydee, if she had threatened me I would have done the exact same thing and told Colby. Please don’t be angry at Brydee, it isn’t her fault she was threatened.” Alex said to Willow in a quiet voice.  
Willow took a deep breath. She shook her head.  
“I’m sorry. You’re right, Bella is getting what she wants. She got into my head, I shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m sorry, to both of you.” Willow apologized looking down at her feet.  
“I’m sorry too.” Brydee admitted.  
“So am I. Can we agree to move past this?” Alex offered.  
Brydee looked at Willow, she was fine with doing that as long as Willow was.  
“Yeah, what’s done is done. Hopefully it will help Bella.” Willow said. Brydee let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. She marched over and gripped Willow in a hug. She tried her hardest not to cry. Brydee kicked herself for being so emotional, she blamed it on being away from her squad for so long, she’d need to take a trip back to their headquarters to regain her composure. Willow’s eyes went wide, she looked at Alex who had worry etched all over her face. Willow felt incredibly guilty for the outburst she had just had.  
“I’m sorry.” Willow whispered.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Americans reading, biscuits is our term for cookies

Brydee was rushing around the store looking for the perfect dessert, she wasn’t sure how much of a sweet tooth the Stewart family had so she was going in blind and boy did she feel nervous about that. She grabbed a pav and the essentials to go with it, to be on the safe side she got some ingredients to make one of her go to cakes. Satisfied she had everything to cover the basics she jumped in Roo’s car which she had graciously let her borrow for the afternoon. Brydee grabbed out her phone and put in a reminder to get herself some form of transport, if she was going to be sticking around she didn’t want to keep bugging Roo.

Once she got back to the Stewart’s she noticed another car there, a ute that Brydee was almost positive belonged to Alf. She took a deep breath before hopping out. As she hopped out a blonde haired woman came bustling over to her, Brydee was going to take a guess by her age that this was Martha, Roo’s mum.  
“Brydee yes?” The older woman asked her.  
“Yes ma’am.” Brydee nodded, she mentally scolded herself, her nerves had made her slip back into officer lingo.  
The woman chuckled. “Just call me Martha dear, can I help you with anything?”  
“Right, thank you, I should be able to tackle all of this myself.” Brydee said as she grabbed multiple bags.  
“Don’t be silly, here let me take one of those off you.” Martha said before taking one off her plate.  
“Thank you.” Brydee smiled at the woman before heading towards the house.  
“Ooo, choc ripple biscuits?” Martha tilted her head, curious.  
“Ha, um, yeah, it’s, well we didn’t really have much cooking skills growing up and it’s rather impressive, most people we served it too were stunned, but it’s kind of a secret.” Brydee tried explaining.  
“Well you have my attention that’s for sure. If you need any help just sing out.” Martha told her as they put the groceries down.  
“Um, actually, I could use your help. As long as you promise not to tell the others.” Brydee asked.  
Martha smiled at her. “Of course, what would you like me to do?” She asked.  
Brydee laughed to herself. She got the choc ripple biscuits out.  
“Well, I just need you to hold two biscuits next to each other for me.” Brydee asked.  
Martha looked confused. Brydee felt embarrassed.  
“Okay so I’m going to whip up some cream and then we put a little bit of cream on the container we are going to place the cake in, we then lather one biscuit in cream and then we do the same for the next one until we’ve gone through all the biscuits. I don’t need much help, it’s just the first one doesn’t like to stay upright so having a hand to keep it in place would be helpful.” Brydee explained.  
“Hold on, you’re just, putting cream on biscuits to make a cake?” Martha asked, looking bewildered.  
“Yeah, the biscuits go soft really quickly and form a cake like texture, it’s very yummy.” Brydee almost squealed out. It was her favourite thing to make for special events growing up, seeing as it didn’t involve using an oven it was very simple, no one besides Jai and Willow knew how it was made. Everyone else assumed she was some amazing baker at 8 yrs old. Brydee had a smile dancing on her lips the entire time they whipped the cake up. Martha watched the young woman, when Roo had talked to her she had told her how much Brydee had been struggling, Martha had noticed similarities in certain things Roo had described about the younger woman. Before even meeting her Martha knew she would be an important part of their family. She knew mental illness well and hoped her experience would be able to help her. For the moment though Martha took delight that the woman was happy.  
“Do you think Mr. Stewart will like it?” Brydee piped up. Martha could have laughed at how childlike her question was. She was nervous about impressing Alf.  
“If this cake is as good as you claim it is I’m sure he’ll love it.” Martha reassured her.  
Brydee nodded. “Okay now we just leave these in the fridge until we are ready to eat.”  
“Lovely. Say, would you like to go for a walk?” Martha asked.  
“Yeah sure, I wonder if Ryder is around, we could go out for a surf before dinner.” Brydee said while taking off upstairs. She halted to a stop midway and ran back down.  
“I’m sorry, I got excited and forgot my manners, do you mind if I ask Ryder?” Brydee asked.  
Martha chuckled at the woman's haste. “Go for it.” She smiled.  
“OI RYDER” Martha heard the woman yell. She was yet to see how those two got along but she was almost positive Roo was right and that they got along like a house on fire.  
Ryder bounded down the stairs with Brydee close behind.  
“Martha! Good to see you.” Ryder greeted her.  
“You too, so shall we go to the beach?” She asked.  
“Yeah I’ll duck out the back and get our boards.” Ryder said to Brydee.  
“He seems happier.” Martha noted out loud.  
“Yeah it probably helps that Jade got caught out for lying and stealing.” Brydee told her.  
“Yes it seems very lucky that Ryder ran into you.” Martha said, smiling.  
“Oh, right, yeah I mean it doesn’t take a genius to figure out he’s a good person. I was just doing my job.” Brydee shrugged.  
“Mmm, I heard you made a tape of your own-” Martha started.  
“Ohh my god. First of all I didn’t have sex with her, second that’s not general knowledge nor should it be so shhh and third I ended up fainting so it’s rather embarrassing and I’d like to forget it ever happened.” Brydee felt her cheeks go red.  
“Don’t worry it won’t go past Roo or I.” Martha said.  
“Oh god, Roo knows?!”  
“Who do you think told me? She got it out of Colby while he was drunk but like I said, don’t worry. We appreciate what you did for him, really.” Martha said, touching her shoulder.  
Brydee was rather lost for words, she smiled at the woman hoping that was enough to convey her emotions.  
“Alright, got the boards, here take yours. They’re surprisingly heavy.” Ryder said.  
“How are they surprisingly heavy? They are massive, bigger than you so of course there’s going to be some weight behind them. Also if you want to get any better at surfing you’re gonna want to avoid insulting your board.” Brydee said.  
“Pfft, what, the board is just going to treat me better is it?” Ryder said mockingly.  
“Talk to me again once you’ve had to smooth talk her away from the rocks or some other danger lurking out there. The board is a surfers best friend, trust me.” Brydee told him.  
“Kind of like when I had to talk my car into starting, we were left out in the middle of nowhere for hours.” Ryder said, finally understanding her.  
“Exactly! Speaking of which, I need to find myself a car, unless of course your grandad decides to throw me out onto my butt.” Brydee said, nervously.  
“He might come across big and mean but he’s a softy at heart.” Martha chimed in.  
“Right, but what if he thinks I’m just some low life squatter who is taking Roo for a ride.”  
“Stop working yourself up, grumps is gonna love you and if he doesn’t he’s an idiot.” Ryder said.  
“Ryder!” Martha chastised.  
“What? Come on Martha, you’ve only just met Brydee, what do you think of her?” He asked.  
“Oh god, you don’t have to answer that, in fact I would appreciate it if you didn-”  
“I think she’s wonderful, I can see why Roo took a liking to her.” Martha stated confidently.  
Brydee was beet red. “You guys really love embarrassing me don’t you?”  
“Ah, that’s the fun of being a Stewart. Well go on, show me how good you both are on your boards.” Martha told them. Ryder and Brydee grinned at each other before racing off towards the water, Brydee’s training making her ten times fitter than Ryder had her hitting the water leagues before him.  
“Come on slowpoke!” She called behind herself.  
“Brydee, Willow’s back here she wants to talk to you!” Ryder called out. It had the desired effect. She halted her progress to look around. Realizing she had been played she jumped on top of him dunking them both in the water.  
“Wow, playing dirty, really? Shame on you.” Brydee said laughing.  
They spent the next hour laughing and surfing and enjoying each other's company. Martha watched from the sand, Roo and Alf joining her.  
“So, Roo was right I see. She does have a good influence on him.” Alf said to both Martha and Roo.  
“Yes, you should have seen her earlier, she was making a cake and was smiling to herself. She didn’t take credit for saving Ryder when she could have. She’s incredibly selfless and kind.” Martha said, smiling.  
“She’ll fit right in then.” Alf noted, looking down at his daughter.  
“You really mean that?” Roo asked her dad.  
“Of course, love. From what you’ve told us you seem to have a real connection with her and clearly the boy does too. We’d be glad to have her.” Alf stated. “Although, don’t go telling her that just yet, let her sweat it out.”  
“Dad.” Roo started.  
“What? I don’t want her to think I’ve gone soft.” Alf said. They both laughed.

Ryder and Brydee made their way out of the water. Brydee was nervous to meet the famous Alf Stewart.  
“Every fibre in my body is on fire.” Ryder complained.  
“I told you, you have to build your muscle up. There’s a lot of endurance when it comes to surfing.” Brydee told him.  
“Yeah you’re still gonna help me with that right?” He asked.  
“Bossing you around for an hour? Sounds like a dream come true.” Brydee joked, giving him a devilish grin.  
“Sorry, did you just say Ryder, training? Like.. in a gym?” Roo asked.  
“Ah, you’re just jealous, if only you could do a workout.” Ryder joked.  
“Ha! I’m sure Roo could bench you in her sleep.” Brydee jested.  
“I’d rather she throw him over the back fence when he doesn’t stop yapping.” Alf said.  
Everyone started laughing.  
“You know I could probably make that happen.” Brydee said.  
“Love if you make that happen you can stay with us for as long as you like.” Alf said nodding to the girl. She couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across her face.  
“Oh so this is how it’s going to be? You’re all going to gang up on me?” Ryder said, pretending to be hurt.  
“Isn’t that what family does?” Martha asked with a twinkle in her eye.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter for this weekend :D

“Ryder could you help me set the table?” Roo asked him.  
“Oh, I can do that.” Brydee offered.  
“Yeah, Brydee will do it.” Ryder said with a smirk. Roo shot him a glare. “What? If she wants to be part of the family..” Ryder shrugged.  
“Boy if you want to continue being part of this family you’ll get up and help.” Alf said in his stern voice. Brydee watched as everyone else tried to contain their laughter. She was still trying to get a feel on if and when Alf is joking or not.  
“It’s okay, really, I don’t mind.” Brydee stated. “It smells amazing, Roo.”  
Roo smiled at her. “The knives and forks are over in this draw and the plates are over in that cupboard, thank you.” Roo said appreciatively.  
Roo had cooked up a roast lamb, Brydee couldn’t wait, her mouth was watering. 20 minutes later Roo called them all to the table. Dinner was served.  
“Now, before we dig in I just wanted to make a toast. I’ll try not to embarrass you too much.” Roo said smiling at Brydee.  
“Oh god.” She said covering her eyes for a moment.  
“I know we haven’t known each other very long and this is the first time mum and dad get to meet you but in the little time I’ve known you, you have left a big impression on not only my heart but Ryder’s. As I’m sure you will also, with mum and dad. I know how hard your life has been and I can’t imagine losing your family like you have but I wanted to let you know that I’m here, we are here and we will continue to be here for you no matter what.” Roo finished, tears in her eyes.  
“Here here.” Alf said, lifting his stubby into the air. They all cheersed. Brydee spent the next few minutes trying to hold back tears.  
They spent dinner eating and having a few laughs, it reminded Brydee of her years in training. It was a different atmosphere but the feeling of family lingered heavily in the air.  
She was the last to finish her dinner, she savoured every moment.  
“That was delicious Roo.” She said.  
“It sure was.” Alf agreed.  
“Yeah, it was okay.” Ryder said, Brydee elbowed him. “Kidding, kidding, it was good, thanks Roo.” He cleared up.  
“Well I’ll be damned.” Alf said, studying the two young adults.  
“Told you she was good for him, dad.” Roo whispered.  
“So, what’s for dessert?” Ryder said, lazing back into his chair.  
“Oh!” Brydee jumped out of her chair, she made her way towards the fridge.  
“Wait, I was joking, is there actually dessert?” Ryder asked, hopeful.  
“There sure is, Brydee whipped something special up for us.” Martha told him.  
“Well, it’s nothing special, seriously it's the most basic stuff but the meaning behind it is special. Not that that's going to matter to you.” Brydee finished the sentence rather shyly.  
“If it’s special to you it’s special to us.” Martha said soothingly. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.  
“Okay well there’s pav and then there’s choc ripple cake, who wants what?” Brydee asked.  
Martha caught Roo’s eye and whispered to try the cake. Alf also saw the interaction.  
“I’ll have a bit of the cake love.” Alf said. Roo and Martha chimed in asking for cake as well.  
“I’ll have a bit of both.” Ryder said, grinning.  
“Of course you will.” Alf huffed.  
“What? I’m a growing young man.” He said proudly.  
Roo watched Brydee cut up the cake getting excited, she smiled warmly, it was nice to see her happy.  
“Okay, here you all go, Ryder you can have some pav after.” Brydee told him. “Dig in.”  
And they did. Martha shouldn’t have been shocked that the biscuits had turned into a cake texture in a couple of hours but she was, and it tasted amazing too. She understood now why all her friends had been impressed. She laughed out loud.  
“Mum?” Roo asked.  
“Oh it’s nothing, just thinking back on something Brydee told me earlier is all.” She said, going in for another spoonful.  
“This is great.” Roo told her.  
“Thank you and thank you for dinner and giving me a place to stay and just generally being kind to me.” Brydee had wanted to say a place to call home but she didn’t want to jump the gun.  
“You’re probably sick of hearing it by now but I wanted to say thanks, for what you did for young Ryder. He’d be stuck in the mud still if it weren’t for you. We look after each other around here, you’ll fit in just fine.” Alf said, nodding at her. Brydee tried to contain her smile.  
“So does this mean I can call you grumps too or?” Brydee grinned at Ryder who laughed.  
“Don’t push your luck.” He said sternly although Brydee was sure she saw him smiling as he went and put his dishes away.

The Stewart household found themselves playing board games and having a grand old time. Brydee had heard her phone go off multiple times but the knot in her stomach told her not to check it. It had been an hour or two since dinner and she was sure Alex and Willow were waiting for her but after everything that happened earlier Brydee thought it best to not crash their dinner. She decided to stay out of their way, she’d be lying if she said Bella hadn’t gotten to her, she had. But she had thought long and hard on it and decided for now it was best to just ease off. Hopefully Colby got Bella some help, then maybe she might walk back into their lives. For now she was perfectly happy spending the night playing board games with the Stewart’s.


	28. Chapter 28

“I’m sorry, I was being an idiot. I don’t know what came over me I didn’t mean to snap.” Willow said, sighing. She was upset with herself for yelling at both Alex and Brydee.  
Alex was folding laundry, Willow had apologized multiple times now to which Alex had told her it was okay. She knew she over stepped and that’s all that mattered, she owned up to it. Alex wasn’t about to tell her she had upset her, there was no point hurting Willow with that information.  
“You’re upset with me.” Willow said in a quiet voice. It seems Willow was determined to get Alex to admit it.  
“Honestly, I’m upset in general. It’s been hell recently and with Bella’s outburst and then you as well, it’s overwhelming. I understand Bella got to you, she’s most likely gotten to all of us but I told you I would never do that to you and it hurt that you think I would. Brydee has been good to both of us. She has made sure we are both comfortable with her friendship to the other, gone out of her way to make sure. She was so worried I was going to cop the fallout for her telling Colby, Willow. You know her better than most, you know how devastated she must be after hearing what you yelled at her. She would never intentionally hurt us.” Alex said, once she started the words kept pouring out. She knew it was healthier to get her feelings out there but she didn’t want to hurt Willow.  
“I know and I know blaming a kid isn’t going to help anyone but I saw red and I don’t even know why. I think realizing you had told her about Salt got to me more than it should have, you are right you weren’t gossiping but with Bella in my ear I just saw something important I had told you be confided in Brydee and doubt set in.” Willow said, shaking her head. “I really am sorry, I do trust you, I’ve done a lousy job at showing it but I do, I love you.” Willow whispered quietly.  
“I love you too, maybe we can try and make it up to her tonight?” Alex suggested.  
Willow smiled, Alex had said we, they were in this together, Willow was kicking herself for doubting the woman, she truly was amazing.  
“That’s if she shows up, something tells me she won’t. Not that I could blame her.” Willow said.  
“Maaaaybe we should text and let her know it’s okay?” Alex suggested.  
“Good idea, I’ll text her.” Willow said before kissing Alex.

The girls got to Salt and ordered some drinks to have before dinner.  
“Look at you two all cute and gross.” Mac said, smiling at them.  
“Jealous?” Willow said with a smirk.  
“Surprisingly no, I’m enjoying being alone right now.” Mac assured them.  
“Being alone can sometimes be the best medicine.” Alex smiled warmly at her.  
“Yeah plus, no Bella drama. Well, aside from whatever happened this morning.” Mac said. Willow flinched.  
“What did happen this morning? We heard Bella threatened Brydee?” Alex asked.  
“And then some, Colby didn’t say too much but Ryder was pretty fed up with Bella, he gave me the rundown, Ryder thought he was going to have to jump in between them at one point.” Mac shook her head. “I don’t want to be around when those two square off.” Mac finished.  
“Brydee’s an adult, surely she won’t let it come to blows.” Willow said.  
“The woman has a smart head on her true but if Bella strikes who knows what’ll happen, she doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to just sit there and take a beat down.” Mac quirked her eyebrow at them.  
“That’s true.” Alex agreed, “Was Colby okay?” She asked.  
“He’s at a loss on what to do and he said for everyone's benefit he couldn’t tell me the main thing that had him down. It’s hard to help when you’re in the dark.” Mac admitted.  
“I’m sure things will work themselves out, shall we go out onto the balcony?” Willow asked Alex.  
Alex smiled and nodded. Willow could tell something was bothering the doctor. Once they got outside Willow decided to ask her.  
“Hey, is everything okay?” She asked softly.  
Alex shook her head. “I guess now that Colby knows and the secret sort of exploded for a second it just feels… wrong, not telling Mac.” Alex admitted.  
“I know it’s hard but-”  
“But? Willow, she tried to burn this place down-”  
“Alex, I know. Dean and I handled things. She won’t do it again.” Willow assured her.  
“But you can’t know that. She ended up overdosing on random drugs she picked up. She’s threatening people's lives. Who's to say she won’t try it again if Mac and her have another falling out? You can’t promise that.” Alex said.  
“Yeah but they won’t have another falling out.” Willow replied.  
“That’s the solution? Make sure they don’t fall out again. Willow please tell me you can see how-”  
“Heey,” Mac was bringing them more drinks out. “On the house, oh, I’m sorry I’m totally interrupting something, sorry.” Mac said backing away.  
“No, it’s okay, why don’t you join us.” Willow said. She wanted to avoid further discussion of the matter.  
“I’d love to but it’s fairly busy, you two have fun.” She said before walking away.  
“Willow,”  
“You don’t understand, she’s had a horrible upbringing and the world has been against her, she’s suffered so much, I can’t betray her. I won’t.” Willow stated.  
“I understand you want to protect her but sometimes the best thing we can do-”  
“Alex, please, drop it. I just want to have a nice night out with my amazing girlfriend, please.” Willow pleaded.  
“Right, yeah okay, I’m sorry.” She dipped her head to kiss Willow. Alex hadn’t expected Willow to deepen the kiss but before she knew it Willow’s tongue had made its way into her mouth and a whine was escaping her. She pulled away slightly to catch her breath.  
“What was that for?” Alex asked.  
“Because I love you.” Willow breathed. “And I’m sorry. I don’t know how to not butt heads on this, I just want to move past it. Please can we just agree to disagree and let it go.” Willow asked. Alex sighed. She didn’t want to cause arguments with Willow, it was the last thing she wanted, but she also wanted to do what was right. She swallowed the guilt and nodded her head.  
“Okay.” She whispered. Holding Willow close.  
“Okay? Really?” Willow couldn’t contain her happiness. Alex’s heart soared a little hearing how excited she was at the thought of them moving past the issue. Maybe she could deal with the guilt, as long as she got to hold Willow everything would be okay.

“She told me either way she would text and let me know if she were coming or not.” Alex assured Willow when Brydee hadn’t shown up after hours of them being there.  
“Yeah but she didn’t reply to me at all.” Willow huffed.  
“Will..”  
“I know, I know. It’s just she usually would reply. Ugh. I’m an idiot.” Willow sighed.  
“No you aren’t. Everyone makes mistakes, it’s okay. You were best friends at one point and weren’t even talking two weeks ago so I’m sure you guys will be okay.” Alex assured her girlfriend.  
“Could you text her or ooh maybe call her?” Willow suggested.  
Alex pulled out her phone. “Fine, one text.” Alex typed up a quick message asking if Brydee was still going to meet up with them for drinks.  
“If she replies to you straight away I’m going to kick her ass.” Willow joked.  
She didn’t reply. Alex was worrying a little, Brydee had given her word that either way she would let them know.  
“You don’t think anything has happened to her do you?” Alex asked nervously.  
“What? No, no, baby she’s fine. She’s most likely mad at me and doesn’t want to hang out.” Willow concluded.  
“Yeah but she said she would message me.” Alex said, shaking her phone. Willow watched in amusement as the alcohol started to have an effect on Alex.  
“Call her if you’re worried.” Willow suggested.  
“Good idea!” Alex lifted the phone to her ear and waited for Brydee’s voice to come through. It didn’t. Alex dialed again, still nothing. She sighed.  
“Willow what if she got upset like the other night, what if-” Alex was startled by Willow jumping out of her chair.  
“Come on! We are going to find her!” Willow shouted.  
They walked along the beach in the hopes of finding her.  
“Wait, she said she was having dinner with the Stewart’s!” Alex remembered.  
Willow chuckled. “I can’t believe we nearly forgot that, duh.”  
They made their way towards the Stewart’s house hold, drunk and determined.


	29. Chapter 29

“You totally cheated!” Ryder exclaimed.  
“What?! No I didn’t!” Roo yelled back.  
Brydee was beside herself in tears laughing at the pair of them. Ryder had lost fair and square but of course he went down fighting.  
“Admit defeat!” Brydee called. Roo and Martha started chanting it.  
“Admit defeat, admit defeat!”  
Ryder shook his head. “NEVER!!!” He roared before pretending to plunge a spoon into his chest. He made gurgling sounds.  
“You know I’m actually impressed, have you ever thought about acting?” She asked him before pretending to die like he did, mocking him. There was a chorus of “oooooh”.  
Brydee ran up to the boy and basically glomped him. They went flying onto the couch both in tears of laughter. A crash at the door made everyone stop laughing.  
“Alex?” Martha asked. Brydee froze.  
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry your plant walked into me.” Alex said before laughing. Willow was slung around her. They were drunk. Everyone looked to her, assuming she was the culprit, they were right of course, they were here for her. Willow started whispering something before they both started drunkenly yelling.  
“Brydee! We are looking for her, she didn’t answer our calls or texts and we started to worry. Have you seen her?” Alex slurred.  
“She’s about this tall-” Willow raised her hand above her head.  
“I’m here.” Brydee said cutting them off, she walked into the doorway.  
“Brydee!” Both women yelled.  
“That’s my name.” She gave a small smile.  
“How about you both come on through, there’s tables and chairs out the back and I’ll bring you some water.” Roo suggested. Brydee nodded at her idea and mouthed thanks to Roo.  
They sat down and Roo brought out drinks.  
“Thank youu.” The both of them chorused. Roo gave Brydee a pity smile and went back inside.  
“What the hell are you two doing?” Brydee asked, annoyance in her voice. Both women sat there staring at her with shocked faces. Brydee continued.  
“Oh I’m sorry did you forget the screaming match this morning?” She directed at Willow.  
“We text-” Willow started.  
“Yeah I haven’t had my phone on me, I thought it best to stay away. I’d rather not have you jumping down my throat for things I didn’t or wouldn’t do.” Brydee hadn’t realized just how pissed off she was. She was having such a good night she had even forgotten about the pit in her stomach causing her to ache. It was a good night until now.  
“I’m sorry, I was an idiot.” Willow said, she almost fell out her chair. She was completely gone.  
“When you didn’t answer we got worried, I thought you might have hurt yourself. We’re sorry.” Alex said, Brydee could tell she was trying her hardest to sober up. She hiccuped.  
Brydee sighed. All the anger washed out of her. She did promise to let Alex know either way.  
“I should have text, I’m sorry. I’m fine though so you can go home now.”  
“What? Nooo we just got here and we wanted to hang out.” Willow said.  
“How much have you had to drink?” Brydee questioned. Willow raised her hand and started counting, she ended up flashing both hands at her multiple times.  
“I can’t remember but it was a lot.” Willow answered.  
“I thought you were just going out for dinner and a few drinks?” She queried.  
“Things escalated.” Alex shrugged.  
“Well you should both go home and sleep it off, I’ll get you an uber.” Brydee said.  
“No, please. Can’t we just stay and talk?” Willow asked.  
“Mhm and what would you like to talk about exactly? The fact that I told Colby your secret, maybe the fact that a 17 yr old threatened my life? Or maybe about how you assumed the worst of me and thought I would ever hurt you.” Brydee asked. The anger bubbling back.  
Roo walked back outside. “What do you mean she threatened your life?” She asked.  
Willow started laughing “Uh ohhh” Alex covered Willow’s mouth, Alex seemed to be more aware of the situation going on in front of her.  
“Nothing, Roo. It’s fine. Do you mind if I borrow your car, I think it best I drive them home.” She asked. Roo gave her a look that read “this isn’t over” but nodded.  
“Of course, be safe.”  
“Come on, up. You better not vomit.” Brydee said,  
“Please, when do I ever vomit?” Willow slurred. Brydee rolled her eyes.  
“Where do you live?” She asked Alex. Alex gave her the address, Brydee put it into the car’s gps and started driving. She put on the radio to fill the silence. She really wasn’t in the mood to talk to them.  
“Brydee?” Alex said her name quietly. It pained Brydee to ignore the woman. She wasn’t angry at Alex whatsoever but she knew Bella, the young woman had already gotten into Willow’s head. She refused to give the kid any more ammo. Brydee told herself ignoring them both was for the best. She felt a tug on her shirt. Steely blue eyes held her own green in the rear view mirror. She pulled hers away to look back at the road.  
“Forget it, Alex.” She shrugged her off.  
“You said you’d be my rock if I needed.” Alex said almost sobbing. Brydee had assumed the doctor had sobered up but it seems she was wrong. Alex would never have hit such a low blow sober. Brydee felt guilt wrack through her body.  
“And I meant it. But right now, I can’t. You know what Bella is like. She won’t stop and I won’t put either of you through that, please. Just let it go. Enjoy each other. I have the Stewart’s, I’ll be fine.” Brydee said. She had wanted to ignore her but she couldn’t leave it without explaining a little to Alex. She knew the doctor would regret what she had said in the morning but she hoped her response would ease her mind a little.  
“You can’t just ignore us. Why let Bella win?” Willow spoke up.  
“Because letting her win now is easier than her winning in the end and me losing you both anyway.” Brydee stated.  
“You can’t lose me.” Willow said. Brydee laughed.  
“Yeah sure, tell that to Willow from this morning. She wanted to rip my throat out.” She said.  
“I didn’t mean it.”  
“Don’t.” Brydee warned.  
“B, you know me, I made a mistake but you know I didn’t mean it I-” Willow started.  
“Just wanted to hurt me, yeah, I am well aware. Congratulations.” Brydee said. She pulled up rather fast and put the car in park. They were out the front of Alex’s place.  
“B..”  
“Just get out.”  
“Come on Will.” Alex said as she tugged on Willow’s arm. She touched Brydee’s shoulder and gave her a sad smile. Alex went to open her mouth to say something.  
“Just go Alex, please.” Brydee said, all the fight had left her. She just felt exhausted.  
“We should talk, when we are both sober.” Alex said as she stumbled into the car.  
Brydee sighed. “Make sure you drink lots of water.” She said.  
“Hey, I’m the Doctor here.” Alex laughed to herself. Brydee couldn’t help the small smile that came to her lips.  
“Go look after your patient then.” Brydee said, nodding at Willow who was off dancing in the garden.  
“Come inside.” Alex pulled at Brydee’s arm.  
“Yeah! It’ll be fun!” Willow piped up. They both looked so thrilled at the idea of her staying that Brydee just had to drive off. It broke her heart. They had made it ten times harder on her to stay away. She shook herself. She kept telling herself she had Ryder, the Stewart’s, even Mac and Jasmine. She would be fine.


	30. Chapter 30

Alex woke up with a splitting headache, she groaned and rolled over to put her arm around Willow, except her side of the bed was empty.  
“Will?” Alex called out groggily.  
Alex heard sluggish sounding footsteps before Willow appeared in the doorway, she looked how Alex felt.  
“I’ve just put the jug on, tea or coffee?” Willow asked.  
“Coffee, please. I need energy.” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose.  
“Here, for your head.” Willow handed Alex some painkillers and a glass of water.  
“I thought I was the Doctor, I should be looking after y-” Alex froze mid sentence.  
“Al? Hey, what’s wrong.”  
“Brydee..” Alex croaked out. Everything from the night before came rushing back to her.  
“I know, it’ll be okay, she’s just hurting.” Willow tried reassuring her.  
“No, Willow, I tried guilt tripping her.” Alex admitted, she covered her face with her hands, ashamed of herself.  
“We had way too much to drink last night, I’m pretty sure Brydee got that. She knows it was the booze talking.” Willow said. Alex nodded but it didn’t make her feel any better, she had remembered the hurt in the woman’s eyes.  
“Do you mind if I message her, I feel awful leaving things like that.” Alex asked.  
“Of course not but Al, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s me she’s upset with.” Willow said quietly.  
“She drove off after we asked her to stay. The way she was talking it was like she didn’t want to be around us at all.” Alex said.  
Willow nodded. “One time when Bella started, she got into Dean’s head, they had a massive fallout and I had no idea. I didn’t see her for a week and when I saw her and tried talking to her she gave me the cold shoulder. I ended up getting it out of Colby what had happened and I told them both to pull their heads in and get over it. She did, Dean eased off and we started hanging out again. It’ll be okay Al, we just need to explain to her it’s okay.” Willow said confidently.  
“I like your enthusiasm.. But we aren’t kids. I think this goes beyond what happened with Dean.” Alex said.  
“What do you mean?” Willow asked.  
“Well to Dean she wasn’t really a threat. You hadn’t shown an interest in women so he didn’t have to worry. Bella got into your head Willow, she made you think Brydee or I would do that to you and both Brydee and I like women, you know we both wouldn’t do that to you but there is more of a “threat” there. Brydee doesn’t want to give Bella any more ammo to use. I really don’t think Brydee’s going to let it go. She cares too much.” Alex explained.  
“I feel like such an idiot for snapping yesterday.” Willow grumbled.  
Alex leant over and placed a kiss on Willow’s forehead.  
“I’ll text her, hopefully we can sort this out. As sober adults this time.” Alex said, gaining a chuckle from Willow.

Brydee was up bright and early, she went downstairs to make some breakfast and found Martha and Alf.  
“Ah, Brydee! We were just off to the BBQ to fry up some breakfast.” Alf told her.  
“Yes, you are more than welcome to come join us?” Martha asked.  
“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose on you.”  
“Course not love, just don’t tell Ryder. He always steals the bacon.” Alf said, Brydee couldn’t help the snort that happened. The two of them looked at her with amused looks.  
“Sorry, wasn’t expecting to laugh so early.” Brydee grinned.  
“Well you keep laughing at everything I say and you’ll quickly become my favourite person.” Alf said nodding to her.  
Martha play slapped him. “Hey.” She said.  
“Second favourite.” Alf clarified.  
“Tsk tsk shame on you grumps, you’re going soft in your old age.” Brydee said without thinking. She slapped her hand over her mouth, she had thought of saying it but she didn’t actually mean to blurt it out.  
Martha tipped her head back and almost howled out in laughter. Alf looked at Martha with his eyebrow raised.  
Martha shrugged. “What? It’s true.” She whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek.  
Brydee was still gawking at them. Not believing she had actually said that.  
“I am so sorry that was completely o-” Brydee started.  
“Forget about it, we need some good humor in this house. Just, don’t let Ryder know I let you get away with it.” Alf said, looking at her sternly.  
“Yes Sir.” Brydee responded.  
The three of them went out to the BBQ at the caravan park, Brydee felt the sea breeze and sun hit her.  
“It’s a beautiful day, although I’m not sure you’d get anything but beautiful days here.” Brydee pointed out.  
“Mmm, it’s hard to say no to this place isn’t it?” Martha asked. Alf started cooking the bacon.  
“Why do you think I’ve never left.” He said.  
“Actually I wouldn’t mind talking to you both about that..” Brydee tried to find the courage.  
“Don’t worry, Love. Roo has already told us she’s offered you that bedroom permanently.” Martha said.  
Brydee smiled. “Yeah but there’s a difference between being told and asking. I understand if you don’t want me to stay, I would not be insulted in the slightest. Roo felt sorry for me and jumped the gun. I’d love to stay, in fact I’m pretty sure no matter what I’m going to stick around the Bay. But I don’t want to inconvenience you both, I’m hoping after a phone call later I’ll be able to sort some stuff out so I wouldn’t be on the streets or anything and I’m nervous and I ramble when I’m nervous, sorry.” Brydee finished.  
“We’d love to have you, just help out where you can and we’ll have smooth sailing.” Alf told her.  
“Okay, how much would you like for rent?” She asked.  
“I think Roo might actually kill me if I tried hitting you up for rent.” Alf said, chuckling to himself.  
“But-”  
“No buts. You’re a part of this family now whether you like it or not. Get used to it.” Alf said in his usual Alf manner.  
Brydee didn’t have words. She felt bad but she also felt overwhelmingly grateful.  
“Thank you. Thank you both so much. You won’t regret it I promise.” Brydee squealed.  
The three of them ate breakfast in a peaceful silence, Brydee was giddy with excitement.  
“I should head back, I need to make a phone call. Thank you for breakfast.” She said.  
“Thank you for not stealing all the bacon.” Alf said with a nod. She chuckled before walking back to the house. She grabbed her phone and noticed a message. She sighed, it was Alex.  
“We’re sorry for turning up at your place drunk, we got worried when you didn’t text. Can we please talk? I don’t want to leave things the way they are.”  
Brydee replied. “It’s better if we don’t talk, I’m sorry Alex.”  
Almost immediately she got a reply. “Meet me on the beach down by the surf club, half an hour.”  
Brydee shook her head in frustration. There was no point replying, whether or not Brydee turned up, Alex would be there.


	31. Chapter 31

“You’re annoying, you know that?” Brydee called out to the Doctor.  
“I like to think of it more as I’m just persistent.” Alex smiled at her.  
Brydee shook her head. “What do you want Alex?” She asked.  
“Oh I don’t know, friendship perhaps? I know why you want to distance yourself, I do. But Willow is okay, I won’t let a child ruin multiple friendships. You’ve helped me a lot these past few weeks, I’m sorry for what I said last night, it wasn’t fair.” Alex said honestly.  
“No, it wasn’t. It hurt.” Brydee admitted. Alex felt like someone had knocked the wind out of her.  
“I just don’t want to lose what could be a great friend, for me or for Willow. We both trust yo-” Alex started to say.  
“I’m not so sure Willow does. It’s funny really, seeing as I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember.” Brydee heard the emotion coming through her voice, she tried to steady herself.  
“Which is why I know you would never hurt her, or me for that matter. You care.” Alex stated.  
“And what if she’s right?!” Brydee yelled. She internally scolded herself. She had lost her cool.  
“You mean Bella?” Alex wanted to clarify.  
“Yes.” She answered.  
“She isn’t. She may have known you for years but she doesn’t really know you, I’ve known you for what two weeks and I know you better than she ever would. I see you, I see how kind you are, how thoughtful. The lengths you’ll go to to protect the people you care about.” Alex’s voice had gone quiet towards the end.  
“Alex, leave it.” She demanded.  
“No. I won’t let you go down this path, who do you want to hurt exactly? Me or You? Do you think it will make things easier if I’m angry at you? Is that what you want?” Alex asked.  
“Well it would be easier! People die around me Alex, leave before you become one of them.” Brydee said before turning to walk away. Alex wasn’t having it, she followed the young woman and yanked her back around.  
“No. Sorry but you’re stuck with me. I’m sorry your life has been awful, that you’ve lost so many people at such a young age. But you aren’t losing me-” Alex tried saying.  
“This isn’t just about you! What about Willow?! I know she regrets yelling at me but Bella got to her, for a moment Willow saw the person I never wanted her to see me as. The bad guy. Someone who would destroy a happy relationship to get what I want!” Brydee yelled.  
“You aren’t that person, Brydee. Anyone with eyes can see that. Willow wasn’t doubting you yesterday she was more doubting herself. You said it yourself her past relationships have taken their toll on her.” Alex said quietly.  
“Stop. Just stop.”  
“Stop what?” Alex asked.  
“Being nice to me!” Brydee yelled.  
Alex flinched at the close proximity and Brydee’s voice. Alex watched Brydee’s eyes widen in horror. “Brydee-”  
“I scared you. You still want to defend me?” Brydee’s voice cracked. She tried being the bad guy, she tried to push Alex away but the more she tried the more it hurt. “I don’t want to hurt.” She whispered, tears rolling down her face. Alex’s heart broke. She put her arms around the woman and held her.  
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. But I’ll be damned if Bella gets to pick and choose who I’m friends with.” Alex said, boldly.  
Unbeknownst to Alex, Bella was up at Salt watching the two of them yell at each other and then watched the Doctor hug her. Bella had already started calling Willow.

“I’m telling you they were on the beach getting cosy together, it looked really heated.” Bella told Willow on the phone, a smirk playing on her lips.  
“Bella, Alex is just trying to fix a problem you created. Butt out.” Willow said, exasperated.  
“Willow I’m telling you there’s mo-”  
“Bella! Seriously! Give it a rest!" Willow yelled before hanging up the phone.

Alex had taken off so quickly earlier that she hadn’t realized she had forgotten her bag, Brydee had picked it up and taken it up with her to the grass, she had wanted to make this phone call while looking out onto the beach but the sun had become too much for her, she needed the shade. She shook herself, phone call and then she would give Alex her bag back. She nodded to herself. Okay, here went nothing. The phone rang three times before she heard a familiar voice.  
“Well if it isn’t my favourite Sergeant. Brydee, how are you?” The older man asked.  
“Senior Lieutenant Bentley. I’m good Sir, I wanted to talk to you about something important, is now a good time?” She asked him.  
“Now’s as good a time as anyway, what’s the matter?” He asked.  
“Nothing’s the matter, everything went smoothly here.” She stated.  
“Good, good. Yes I received the full report. Good job Sergeant Devin.” He said with pride in his voice.  
“Thank you sir, I’m just thankful it’s all over with now. I never want to hear of the ouroboros gang ever again.” She said.  
“And you won’t. Anyway, the important thing you needed to discuss?” He pressed her.  
“Yes well, I would like to set up a team here, in Summer Bay. Lord knows they could use it and I’ve taken a liking to this place, I’ve met some wonderful people and I even have a nice home I’m living in.” Brydee started to get excited about the prospect of living in the Bay, she tried to tone it down as to not show her emotions too much to her ranking officer. “Ah, you know, nice bed, hot meal.” She played off. He chuckled into the mic.  
“I’m glad you are enjoying yourself, you deserve it. I’ll look into setting up a base and getting your team together. I’m assuming you want officers Brooks, Chambers and Asola to be on your team?” He asked.  
“Yes sir, that would be much appreciated.” She told him.  
“Alright, leave it with me. I’ll let you know as soon as I do. Take care, Brydee.” He told her.  
“You too Sir.” She hung up.  
“Was that Alex or Willow you were being all cutesy to on the phone just now?” Bella asked. Brydee flinched. She was so intent on talking to her Lieutenant that she hadn’t heard Bella approaching.  
“I think you and I have different ideas of what cutesy means, Bella.” She replied.  
“I won’t let you ruin something good for Willow.” Bella seethed at her.  
“Funny, I have no intention of hurting Willow or Alex for that matter. Why can’t you just be mature about things for once?” Brydee asked of her.  
“I’m protecting my family.” Bella stated.  
“No you aren’t. You’re causing unnecessary problems.” Brydee chimed back.  
“You are an unnecessary problem, one I’m going to remove.” Bella sneered.  
“Don’t threaten me.” Brydee warned.  
“Or what?” Bella smiled cruelly at her.  
“I’m not sure why you think you’re untouchable, because you’re not. Colby is starting to figure out just who you are and if you don’t start getting the help you need you’ll most likely lose him, that’s if you haven’t already.” Brydee told her.  
“Colby won’t ever leave me, he’s done things for me you couldn’t even imagine.” Bella had a gleam in her eye that worried Brydee. She was talking about him murdering Ross.  
“Colby did what he had to in a dire circumstance. He won’t kill someone in cold blood for you again, the fact that you would expect something like that from him is sick.” Brydee said, disgusted.  
“I don’t need Colby to do my dirty work for me, but he would cover it up if I needed him too.” Bella said, proudly.  
“Well how about we go and tell Colby those exact words and the fact that you’ve threatened me again, let’s see how he takes it shall we?” Brydee said, calling her bluff. Brydee turned around to walk in the direction of Colby’s house. A flash of white appeared in front of her eyes accompanied by searing pain in her head before everything went black.


	32. Chapter 32

Alex was feeling much better than yesterday, she knew her friendship with Brydee was going to be rocky, especially with Bella around but Alex was hopeful she had gotten through to her. She wasn’t going to let Bella destroy multiple friendships. Alex had basically squealed with happiness when Brydee admitted that she didn’t want to ignore them both. She had announced that she was going to go tell Willow the good news and Brydee said she would catch up with them later because she had to take care of an important phone call first. She didn’t make it far before she realized she had left her bag on the beach. She laughed to herself before heading back. She was on the footpath rounding the corner when she saw Bella and Brydee in each other's face. She stopped dead in her tracks. Alex could not believe it, she had tried so hard to convince Brydee that it would all be okay and here Bella was minutes later destroying that. Something told Alex to stay put, she wasn’t sure why, she should go and defend her friend but there she was completely frozen.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief when she watched Brydee be the grown up and turn to walk away, that same breath became hitched as she watched in horror as Bella picked up a nearby rock and beat it over the back of Brydee’s head. Alex’s brain went numb, she watched the young woman crumple to the ground unconscious. Alex always had this notion that if she saw something traumatic she would be someone who sprung into action, she did it all the time in the hospital but she didn't have much experience outside of it and as she watched everything unfold she stood there, silently. She wasn’t sure she could talk even if she wanted to.  
Bella was so confident in herself she didn’t even look around her to check anyone was watching, she merely stepped over Brydee’s body and walked back to the surf club.

The second Bella was out of eye-shot Alex was pulling out her phone.  
“Emergency. Police, fire or ambulance?” The operator asked.  
“Ambulance.” Alex said, she noted the calmness in her voice. Her whole body was shaking yet she sounded calm. Alex realized even though she was panicking her brain was kicking into doctor mode.  
“What’s your address?” The operator asked.  
“On the grassy knoll, just up from the Summer Bay Surf lifesaving club.” She answered.  
“Okay and what is the matter of your emergency?”  
“A woman has been hit in the back of the head with a large rock, I saw it from afar. I’m just coming up to her now.” Alex said, she was impressed with how calm she sounded.  
“Okay I need you to check if she is conscious for me.” The operator asked.  
Alex reached Brydee, every fiber in her being seemed to fray. Any calmness in her had been wiped, she felt her muscles lock at the sight of her. There was blood, lots of blood.  
“No, she’s not conscious. How far off is the ambulance? I’m a doctor, it’s bad she’s going to need to go in for surgery.” Alex stated. She heard the operator say “Oh” but she didn’t catch much else. Alex took off her jacket and placed it to Brydee’s head, trying to stop the bleeding.  
“They should be there any minute.” She heard coming from the loudspeaker on her phone.  
She heard heavy footsteps behind her.  
“ALEX?!?” It was Dean.  
“Oh my god.” Mac must have been with him. She couldn’t concentrate. She had never felt so lightheaded before.  
“Dean, take over putting the pressure on her wound. Alex, hey, Alex look at me.” Mac tried reaching out to her.  
“What’s wrong with her?” Dean asked.  
“I think she’s gone into shock.” Mac stated.  
“Reckon she saw what happened?” He asked.  
All three of their heads whipped up at the sound of sirens.  
“We need to make a clear path for them.” Alex said snapping out of her state of panic. Mac took over applying pressure for Dean.  
“Right.” Dean nodded. Alex watched him run up to the road, yelling at people along the way to move. He came running back with the ambulance officers in tow.  
Alex watched them stable her neck with a brace. Brydee looked so pale.  
“Alex, breathe. Don’t pass out on us okay?” Mac said. Alex laughed. Of course, that’s why she felt lightheaded. Her breathing was all over the place. She squeezed Mac’s arm.  
“I need to go with her.” Alex said out loud, she wasn’t sure to who exactly.  
“Dean, call Willow and Colby. I’ll go with them to the hospital.” Mac said.  
“Roo.” Alex said, she needed to tell the woman what had happened.  
“What?” They asked.  
“We need to tell Roo. She cares about Brydee, she’d want her to know.” Alex clarified.  
“Right, I’ll tell them all.” Dean promised.  
The ambos lifted Brydee into the ambulance. Alex’s heart clenched. Her and Mac jumped in the back with her.  
“What happened exactly?” The ambulance officer asked.  
“Bella…” Was all Alex managed to say.  
“Bella?” Mac asked.  
“I couldn’t move, I’m so sorry.” Alex said, breaking down into tears. She held onto Brydee’s hand for dear life.  
“This Bella, she attacked her?” All Alex could manage was to nod her head.  
“We need to call it in.” The ambulance officer said to their colleague in the front.  
“Call it in?” Mac asked.  
“We need to notify the police of the assault.” They clarified. Mac nodded, she couldn’t believe Bella would do this.  
“I knew Bella was a handful, but this?” Mac said. Alex recognized doubt in Mac’s voice. She had had enough of people defending Bella, look at where it had got them. She didn’t even think before saying.  
“She tried to burn down Salt, trust me. She is very capable of this.”  
“Wait what?” Mac said, astounded.  
“Dean and Willow caught her before she went through with it.” Alex said.  
“I’m going to kill them.” Mac stated.

They rushed into Northern Districts hospital. Alex was first through the door, she went straight into doctor mode.  
“Brydee Devin, female, 26. Suffered a blow to the back of the head. The bleeding hasn’t been controlled. We need to page the surgeons in immediately. In the meantime let’s get her in for a head CT scan.” She demanded. Her team got straight into it. Something she loved about this place is how capable her team was. Alex saw Tori, the other doctor had come back part time a few weeks ago, she hadn’t been ready for full time duties.  
“I’ll take over from here.” Tori said quietly to Alex.  
“It’s fine-”  
“Alex, if you could see your face right now through my eyes you’d make the same call, you care about her. I’ve got this. I’ll look after her.” Tori assured her.  
“Keep me updated on everything Tori, please.” Alex begged.  
“Of course.” Tori said before yelling out orders.  
Alex felt hands grab her arms. “Come on, let’s take a seat.” Mac said to her softly, leading them to the waiting room.

Ten minutes later Willow, Dean and Colby burst through the doors.  
Willow ran to Alex and hugged her.  
“What the hell happened?” Willow asked. Colby noticed Mac was glaring at him.  
“Bella, she hit Brydee over the back of the head with a massive rock.” Alex croaked out.  
Everyone looked at her like she’d gone crazy.  
“Listen I know Bella can be a handful but she wouldn’t have done this.” Willow defended.  
“Will’s right. Despite everything she would never actually harm anyone.” Colby said.  
“Except herself?” Mac bit back. Colby flinched. “Oh and you know just my business. You remember Salt right? The place she tried to torch.” Mac finished.  
“Wh-”  
“How do you know-”  
“It doesn’t matter how I know. Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me?!” Mac demanded. She wasn’t going to throw Alex under the bus. Mac had noticed Alex dodging her for a while now, she clearly felt guilty knowing but not being able to tell her.  
“We had it under control Mac, I wasn’t going to let her destroy your business.” Dean said.  
“Had it under control? Are you serious? She just smacked a woman over the head with a rock, Dean!” Mac yelled.  
“We don’t know that.” Willow piped up. It felt like someone had punched Alex in the stomach, Willow didn’t believe her.  
“I saw i-” Alex started.  
“You’ve had it out for Bella, Alex.” Colby shrugged.  
“What?” Alex asked in disbelief.  
“Do you actually hear yourselves? Are you that deluded by your family code that you refuse to believe a woman at her word?” Mac asked.  
“Come on Mac, look at her! Who knows what she actually saw, she looks like she’s seen a ghost.” Dean said.  
“Maybe because she watched Bella take a rock to Brydee’s head!” Mac yelled.  
“What?” Everyone spun on their heels to find the Stewart’s in the entry way. Roo had said it, barely more than a whisper.  
Ryder shook his head. “I should have known after the other day to not trust her. Where is she?”  
“Don’t even think about it.” Dean said in a low voice. Clearly a threat.  
Alf stood in between them. “Why don’t we all just calm down, right now it doesn’t matter who, all that matters is Brydee is okay and makes a full recovery.” He said.  
Roo walked past them and grabbed Alex by the hand, they walked down the corridor.  
“What happened?” She asked the doctor.  
“I’m not entirely sure, I was with Brydee and then I left, I forgot my bag so I went to go back and get it when I saw Bella and Brydee in a heated discussion. Brydee went to walk away then Bella picked up the rock and hit her with it. I’m sorry Roo, I couldn’t move, I was frozen. I should have stopped it, I-” Alex started sobbing into Roo’s chest.  
“It’s okay honey, this isn’t your fault. I’m just glad you were there to find her and call an ambulance.” Roo admitted.  
“You should be very thankful.” Tori said from behind them.  
“Tori?” Roo asked.  
“She’s still in surgery. They had to perform Burr holes to relieve the pressure on her brain. If you hadn't been there Alex, it would have been bad.” Tori concluded.  
“Will she be okay?” Roo asked.  
“We can’t be certain. She isn’t conscious, nor has she shown any sign of consciousness this whole time.” Tori told them.  
“What does that mean?” Roo asked, tears down her face.  
“Coma. She’s in a coma.” Alex spoke up.  
“I’m sorry, Roo, Alex is right. Once she’s out of surgery it’s a waiting game.” Tori told them.  
Alf and Ryder had walked over to them and heard most of the conversation. Ryder hugged Roo.  
“It’ll be okay, she’s strong. She’ll pull through.” He tried to soothe her.  
“Yeah, she’ll be up and annoying us in no time.” Alf said, trying to cheer them up.  
“How about I go and get us all some coffee’s?” Martha suggested.  
“Thanks, mum.” Roo said. Roo watched Alex practically drag her way into an empty room, she broke down into tears. Roo sat on the bed with her and held her while she cried.  
“She doesn’t believe me.” Alex sobbed out.  
“Willow?” Roo asked.  
Alex nodded. “I saw it Roo, I know it was Bella.”  
“We believe you. It might be harder for the others to accept that someone they love could be capable of such a thing. We won’t allow Bella anywhere near her, okay? She will be safe.” Roo assured her. Alex let out a shaky breath.  
“How can someone walk into our lives and within two weeks mean the utmost importance to us?” Alex questioned.  
“Well I think that just means they were always meant to be in our lives.” Roo said.  
“You think Brydee was always meant to be in yours?” Alex asked quietly.  
“Yes. I thought I was insane for a moment there. Almost instantly she felt like a daughter to me, I know Brydee felt it too, she fought it for a little while but she..” Roo trailed off, unable to continue.  
“Please, I want to hear the rest.” Alex said.  
“The night at the surf club when she was suffering from PTSD, I didn’t want her staying in the hotel. We brought her home with us and a couple of hours after everyone went to bed I couldn’t fall asleep, I went downstairs and not long after Brydee came down. She couldn’t sleep either. She told me she was used to sleeping alone. Lance and her was apart a lot but I think the more she realized it wasn’t temporary the harder it got to sleep alone. She admitted to feeling safe talking to me and I offered to hold her while she slept. She was extremely embarrassed but it felt completely natural to me. She accepted and was out like a light within seconds.” Roo told her.  
Alex sniffled. “No wonder she wanted to stick around. You guys really are like a family to her, I can see it in the way she talks about you.”  
“I know, Mum and Dad told me how happy she was when they gave her their approval.” Roo smiled sadly. “She will wake up, Alex. I know she will. We just need to stay strong.”


	33. Chapter 33

Two hours later Tori came back out to them.  
“Surgery went well. They’ve released the pressure build up and have stopped the bleeding and patched her up. She’s been put in ICU.” Tori confirmed.  
“When can we talk to her?” Colby asked.  
Tori faltered, she assumed Roo would have told the others of Brydee’s condition.  
“Um well not until she comes out of the coma.” Tori informed.  
Dean laughed. “What? Who said anything about a coma?”  
“Dean.” Colby said sternly.  
“What do you mean coma? I mean she just got hit, surely she’s just unconscious-” Willow said, frazzled.  
“A coma is a prolonged state of unconsciousness. It’s not uncommon to be in a coma after trauma to the head like Brydee sustained. She hasn’t shown any signs of consciousness since Alex got to her earlier. I’m sorry.” Tori explained.  
“Thank you Tori.” Alex said quietly to her fellow doctor.  
“Thank you? She didn’t even wake her up! Why are you thanking her!?” Dean yelled.  
Tori got startled by his outburst.  
“Dean-” Willow started to say.  
“Right, if you aren’t going to keep it quiet and attack people who are doing their best you can get out.” Alf said standing up. Dean backed down.  
“I’m sorry. I just don’t understand.” Dean grumbled.  
The doors opened, Bella walked down to them.  
“You!” Mac got up and walked towards her. Colby got in between the two.  
“Please Mac, not here.” He asked.  
“She tried to burn down my restaurant Colby!” She yelled.  
“Woah, what did I just walk into?” Bella laughed.  
“Did you do it?” Ryder asked,  
“Do what?” Bella asked.  
“Hit Brydee in the back of the head with a rock.” Tori was the one to ask.  
“What?! Are you- You can’t be serious. Colby?” She said looking towards her brother. “I would never hurt anybody.” She continued. Lying.  
“It’s okay Bells it was just a question.” Willow assured the girl.  
“I know we’ve had our differences but I-” Bella pretended to cry. Willow took her in her arms.  
“She’s lying.” Alex stated plainly.  
“Alex, you heard her. Let it be.” Willow said. Alex scoffed and shook her head. How could Willow not see she was being played. Alex turned her attention to Tori.  
“Can the Stewart’s sit with her now?” She asked.  
“Of course, just one at a time for now. If she stays the same or improves she will be moved out of ICU by tomorrow but for now they just want to keep a close eye on her.” Tori explained.  
“Thank you Tori.” Roo said. She continued. “I don’t want Bella in with her at all. Understood?”  
Tori nodded. Bella scoffed.  
“We should go.” Colby said. Bella threw her arms up in the air.  
“Fine.” She walked towards the exit.  
“Keep me updated on how she's doing? Please.” Colby asked them.  
Alf nodded.  
“Roo, would you like to see her first?” Alex asked.  
Roo smiled sadly at her and nodded.  
“Thank you.” She whispered. Roo followed Tori into the ICU. Roo felt like bursting into tears at the sight of Brydee. When she had held Brydee while she slept she looked peaceful and innocent but she didn’t feel like she was holding a child, Roo knew it was an adult she was comforting but right now as Roo looked down at the young woman she looked so small and childlike. It hurt Roo to see her like this. She tried to contain a sob that tried to escape.  
“Ryder-” She croaked out. Tori understood, she remembers what it was like seeing Raffy like this. All she wanted was her family. Tori walked back out to them and grabbed Ryder.  
“Just prepare yourself, it will be shocking.” Tori told him.  
“I thought it was only one person at a time?” He asked.  
“Roo needs you.” She clarified. He nodded. He took a deep breath before walking into the unit.  
He walked up to Roo and held her hand. Tori was right, it was shocking. Brydee looked so fragile, Ryder was positive if he ever told her that she’d probably thump him one. He chuckled. Roo looked at him, mortified.  
“I was just thinking how fragile she looked and that she would thump me one if I told her that. Sorry.” He explained. Roo nodded.  
“You’re right. It’s not hard to think that though, looking at her.” Roo admitted.  
“We won’t lose her, Roo. We only just found her.” He hugged her tight.  
“She really did worm her way into our hearts, didn’t she?” Roo chuckled.  
Ryder laughed. “Yeah she really did.”

Tori brought them both in chairs, they sat with Brydee for a while.  
“What happens now?” Ryder asked.  
“What do you mean?” Roo asked.  
“Well Alex saw Bella hit her and Bella has motive. Will there be consequences?” He asked.  
“I honestly don’t know. Having a cop for a brother must have its perks, plus she’s a kid still.” Roo said.  
“Who cares? Roo you didn’t see her, when she threatened Brydee the other day, I can believe she did this.” Ryder explained.  
“I never even got the chance to ask her what happened. She really threatened her?” Roo asked, confused.  
“Yeah… I thought.. I thought you knew. Sorry. She had a go at her at the surf club a couple of days ago.” Ryder told her.  
“Does this have anything to do with why Alex and Willow turned up on our doorstep drunk?” Roo asked.  
“I don’t know exactly but Willow had a go at Brydee not long after. Brydee had spilled the beans on something and wanted to warn Alex and Willow jumped to conclusions. From what I gathered, Brydee was trying to keep her distance.” Ryder concluded.  
Roo shook her head. “I knew the girl had her problems but this is on another level.”  
“She slapped me when she heard the lie from Jade. I haven't cared for her much since, she isn’t a nice person.” Ryder admitted.  
“Awe, I’m sorry Ryder.” Roo put her hand on his back.  
“Don’t be, it’s all sorted now. Thanks to Brydee. She’s who we need to focus on now.” He said with enthusiasm.  
Not long after there was a knock on the door. It was Tori with Alex and Willow not far behind. They both stood up and let the others in.  
“I’m sorry, Alex was getting rather edgy out there waiting.” Willow said. Alex felt hurt by that statement. She wasn’t sure if Willow didn’t understand or just wasn’t taking the situation seriously. Her friend, her childhood best friend had been attacked and is now in a coma. Alex was dumbfounded as to why Willow wasn’t panicking. Willow walked in while Alex lingered behind, Roo came up to her.  
“Are you okay?” She asked the Doctor.  
“I don’t know. I’m scared to see her. All I keep seeing in my head is her on the ground with blood all over her. She looked so fragile I’m not sure I-” Alex started hyperventilating.  
“Hey, slow down. Shh, it’s okay. I can go back in with you if you like? We can have Willow wait outside?” Roo offered.  
“I don’t understand why it isn’t affecting Willow like it is me.” Alex barely whispered to the older woman.  
“It’s okay to feel things differently. Brydee is strong, it’s most likely Willow has assured herself she will be okay. She’s probably seen her bounce back from worse.” Roo said. She wasn’t sure who she was trying to reassure at that point.  
“I might wait until Willow comes out.” Alex said, still holding onto Roo.  
“Of course, I can take you back in later. Let’s go sit down.”

Willow came out after about 30 minutes, confusion on her face.  
“Hey, why didn’t you come in?” She asked Alex. Roo decided it best to explain it, she walked Willow down to the other chairs.  
“Alex isn’t doing too well. She panicked and asked to go back in later, I offered to go with her and she accepted.” Roo explained.  
“Oh, she could have come and told me, I wouldn’t have minded.” Willow said.  
“Willow, honey, Alex is traumatized by what she saw. Brydee was in a bad way when she got to her, she’s struggling more than she lets on.” Roo said. Willow nodded.  
“She keeps things bottled up.” Willow said. “I should go check in with Colby, see how Bella’s doing. Will you let me know if anything changes?”  
“Yeah of course.” Roo told her.  
Roo went back over and sat with Alex.  
“Where did Willow go?” She asked the older woman.  
“To see Colby and check on Bella.” Roo told her. She watched as Alex’s eyes went wide for a second.  
“Check on Bella.. It’s not like she was the one who got attacked.” Alex said, shaking her head.  
“I know, try not to think too much about that now okay? Just be here for Brydee, she’ll appreciate it. Speaking of, shall we go in?” Roo asked, offering her hand.  
Alex took the hand offered, she was going to need the support. They walked in together, Alex knew what to expect, she had seen hundreds if not thousands of coma patients but she knew it was going to hurt, she knew there was a reason why she didn’t want to see her with Willow around, it was going to break her and she knew it. Roo squeezed her hand. Alex already had tears in her eyes.  
“Hey, it’ll get easier once you’ve seen her. Trust me, you won’t want to leave.” Roo told her.  
Alex sniffled and tried to compose herself. They walked towards her unit.  
Alex sighed. “She looks so small.”  
“I know, Ryder said before she looks fragile, he laughed and said she’d thump him one for saying that.” Roo tried to lighten the mood.  
Alex smiled. “He’s right. Do you think she would mind if I held her hand?” Alex asked the older woman.  
“No of course not.” Roo assured her. Alex sat down and took the girls hand, she rubbed circles on it as though it would help her somehow.  
“It feels eerily quiet, Brydee and I sat in silence multiple times but I could always just, I don’t know I guess feel her presence? It didn’t feel like silence. I wish I could hear her voice.” Alex admitted.

The pair spent a few hours sitting with Brydee, Alex chuckled a few times at Roo who had shot the woman looks like she was trying to speak telepathically with her to fill the silence. Alex appreciated the sentiment.  
“Ahem.” The women whipped around to find a man standing in the doorway, Roo noted he looked quite handsome. She couldn’t shake the feeling like she had seen him before.  
“Sorry to startle you both, Lincoln Bentley.” He told them, he cleared his throat before continuing. “Senior Lieutenant. Brydee is one of my best and brightest, her junior officers are outside, I told them to wait. Everyone got a bit rattled when we found out the news.” He explained. Roo got up and shook his hand, Alex followed.  
“Roo Stewart.” She smiled kindly at him.  
“Alex Neilson.”  
“Ah, I’m guessing you two are the reason she wanted to stick around.” He wondered aloud.  
“What do you mean?” Roo asked.  
“She called me earlier this morning, said she wanted to bring a team here. Set up shop, she said this place could use one.” He chuckled. “After today I think she’s probably right. I need to get in touch with the local police to figure out what happened.” He said.  
Alex went to talk when Willow pushed her way past the man.  
“Hey Al, can we talk? It’s kind of important.”  
“Yeah sure, I’ll be right back.” Alex said more to Brydee than anyone else.  
The two of them walked down a few hallways, Willow had gone quiet.  
“You needed to talk?” Alex asked.  
“I am pretty good at spotting cops, I heard them start talking about what happened. That’s when I came in..” Willow said, looking at her feet.  
“And?” Alex asked, confused.  
“And, I need you to keep quiet about your Bella theory, just for now. Hopefully Brydee wakes and she can tel-”  
“You want me to lie? Willow, I know what I saw.” Alex said rather annoyed.  
“No, not lie just don’t say anything. I know you think you know what you saw but Bella-” Willow started defending  
“Don’t. I won’t hear you defend her again. I saw her Willow, she hit her across the back of the head.” Alex was about to lose it, she couldn’t believe Willow refused to see reason.  
“I don’t want to fight-”  
“Believe me then! Listen to me, Bella is a danger to Brydee. The police need to know.” Alex said back.  
“Please just wait until she wakes, please Alex. All I ask is this one thing-” Willow said.  
“No. You asked me to lie to Mac too.” Alex didn’t mean for that to come out but she didn’t regret it.  
“You did tell her.” Willow concluded.  
“After what Bella did to Brydee? Yes Willow. I told Mac. She had a right to know.” Alex’s voice cracked.  
Willow’s heart clenched at how much pain Alex was in. She understood but she had to believe Bella, she just had to.  
“I’m sorry. I love you. I don’t want to be at odds but Bella-”  
“Stop. If I hear her name one more time I might explode. I don’t care about her. She’s fine. Your best friend, the girl who has loved you all of her life is in a bed in the ICU, she’ll be lucky if she ever wakes up and you don’t seem to care at all! You’re supposed to care, you’re supposed to feel what I feel. I feel sick Willow! Sick! She could die! Do you not understand how serious this is?!” Alex had grabbed Willow’s shirt and started shaking her. Willow pulled her into a hug.  
“I’m sorry. I had to look out for my family.” Willow said. The second the words left her mouth she knew they were wrong, Brydee was family, she knew that, everything had exploded today already and she was struggling to keep up. She needed Brydee to wake up and tell them it wasn’t Bella but Willow couldn’t face the fact that she might not wake up. She just couldn’t.  
“You-”  
“That’s not what I meant, Brydee is family. I just can't think about the negatives right now Alex I just can’t. I need to go, I’m sorry.” Willow said before walking off.

Alex walked back into the ICU, she felt sad that Willow and her couldn’t see eye to eye.  
“Everything okay?” Roo asked her.  
“Yeah no, she just wanted to ask something of me.” Alex grimaced at her. Roo had a feeling the whole time they were talking it was about Bella, Alex’s demeanor confirmed Roo’s theory, Willow had asked Alex to keep quiet.  
“The bandage, on her head, what’s?” The Lieutenant asked.  
“Burr holes. They um, they had to drill into her skull to relieve the built up pressure in her brain. If they didn’t it-” Alex faltered. She didn’t want to say the word.  
“She would have died.” The man finished the sentence for her. Alex nodded. She felt her stomach turn.  
“You’re a doctor?” He asked her. She looked up at him.  
“Yes Sir, Doctor Neilson.”  
“And you’re close with Brydee?” He asked.  
“Yeah, she’s, well Willow and her grew up together and we naturally became friends.” Alex explained.  
“Ah, and Willow was the woman who came in earlier?” He asked. She nodded.  
“And you two are dating?” He more confirmed than asked.  
“Yes.” Alex said, she wondered why he was so curious. He seemed to notice this.  
“My apologies I don’t want to intrude. Brydee is special. We all care about her.” He stated.  
Roo chuckled. “We all know that feeling well. Here, take my seat. I’ll go and get us some food perhaps?” Roo asked looking at Alex. Alex had seen coma patients before, she had seen the loved ones around them, she knew the look on his face, he wanted to talk to her. She stood up.  
“I’ll come with you.” She said.  
“No you don’t have to-” He said.  
“Enjoy the alone time, you won't get much of it.” Alex said smiling.  
He nodded to her. “Thank you.”  
“You want to grab something from the cafeteria or should we get out of the hospital for a little while?” Roo asked her.  
“It’s up to you. She’s in good hands and there’s a bunch of people who still want to see her so it’s not like we will be leaving her alone..” Alex trailed off.  
“I think she’d rather us get some space from this place, we can come back after we’ve eaten and check in and then take off again and maybe shower and just.. Take care of ourselves for the moment.” Roo asked.  
“Yeah, you’re right. She would want us to look after our mental health.” Alex nodded.  
“Alex I’m prepared to be there for her every step of the way, I know you will be too so I’d just like to put it out there now that we look after each other also. She will never be alone, okay?” Roo promised.  
“Thank you, Roo. From the bottom of my heart. Yes, let’s.” Alex nodded, smiling.


	34. Chapter 34

A week had gone by, Brydee’s condition hadn’t changed. Roo and Alex had kept their word to one another, they made sure the other drank water, kept eating and got a semi decent amount of sleep and showered when necessary. The two had bonded a lot over the week. The Lieutenant came by to visit every so often, along with the other officers. Colby had checked in once or twice, he clearly felt ashamed. He knew Alex was telling the truth he just didn’t know how to deal with it. The longer Brydee was in a coma the less Willow visited. She had made a few comments about Alex spending more time with Brydee than her and Alex snapped, she felt bad for snapping but Brydee needed her. It hurt that Willow couldn’t see why. The Stewart’s were around a lot, Martha was basically the reason Alex had been eating.  
As Alex sat by Brydee's bedside she found herself wanting to reach out and brush the hair that had fallen onto her face. Brydee's hair was quite short, it was a light brown and a little longer than Colby's but for the most part it was short. Some would say untidy but Alex was almost positive Brydee went to the effort for it to have an unkempt look. She had noticed it was spiked in the back the first time they had met, Alex assumed she spiked it when she went out or wanted to impress. The thought of Brydee making an effort to impress Jade made Alex feel slightly annoyed, Jade didn't deserve it. But as Brydee laid there in a coma her hair had started getting slightly longer, at this point it would be too long for her to spike it at the back but her hair still had a cute flick to it. Alex wondered how often she would cut her hair, would she always keep it short? It suited Brydee's face though, Alex thought to herself. Even when she had her hair spiked it still looked, gentle. Alex wasn't sure why the word gentle came to mind but that's what she landed on. Brydee's features were also gentle looking and soft, more so right now as she was in a coma. Alex would give anything for her to open her eyes and smile, to see her vibrant green eyes sparkle at her. Alex's mind was at breaking point, why was she thinking about such trivial things? She was going stir-crazy. She decided it might be best to go home to shower and clear her mind.

The door was unlocked which meant Willow was home, she had opened a bottle of wine, Alex wanted nothing more than to down a bottle herself but she knew if she started she wouldn’t stop and people needed her right now..  
“Oh hey, you’re home!” Willow said excitedly.  
“Yeah, I’m just going to have a quick shower, grab some stuff and head back to the hospital.”  
“Or you could stay here with me.” Willow offered.  
“I’m sorry, she needs me.” Alex said.  
“Alex, she’s in a coma. The whole point of a coma is she isn’t conscious.” Willow said, Alex could feel an argument coming on.  
“You know coma patients can sometimes hear and feel the people around them. Plus Roo needs me as well. We promised to stick by each other.” Alex admitted.  
“You’ve only known her a couple of weeks, why is she so important?” Willow spat.  
“Willow.” Alex said in a warning voice.  
“I want to spend time with you! Things feel weird, it feels like you’ve distanced yourself.” Willow said, she started angry but ended the sentence in a small voice.  
“Can you blame me? My own girlfriend doesn’t believe me.” Alex said.  
“What are you talking about?” Willow asked, confused.  
“Bella! You don’t believe me. You asked me to keep the truth from the police, Willow-”  
“Because it’s not the truth! I’m sorry I don’t believe you, I am! But there’s more to it, there has to be!” Willow yelled.  
Alex threw her hands in the air. “I’m done.” She said, exasperated.  
“What?” Willow asked, Alex flinched at the pain in her voice.  
“This, you and me. Right now Willow I just can’t do it. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me. Who doesn’t take me at my word. Your best friend is dying in a hospital bed and all you care about is protecting her attacker. Maybe once this is all over, but I really don’t know anymore. If there’s no trust what is there.” Alex said, defeated.  
“Baby, we can make it work-”  
“Don’t. Willow please I don’t want to do this right now. Please just leave.” Alex asked.  
“What so that’s it we are just over? Like that?” Willow asked.  
“Yes. I’m sorry. I think space would be best for both of us.” Alex admitted.  
“No. You can’t. Alex I love you, you can’t just end that.” Willow said through tears. It broke Alex’s heart but she couldn’t do it anymore. She needed space. She was hurting. They were hurting each other. Alex was trying to save what little of the relationship they had left.  
“Maybe someday but right now we aren’t good for each other, I love you too, I’m sorry.” Alex kissed Willow’s forehead before walking into the bathroom. She heard Willow start to cry before the door slammed shut. Alex let her tears flow also. She hadn’t wanted to end things but for right now she didn’t see another solution. She couldn’t ignore the fact that Willow flat out refused to believe her. 

Alex freshened up and returned to the hospital, all of the Stewart’s were there. She smiled to herself, they had become an extended part of her family over the last week.  
“Wake up, I’m bored.” Ryder said to Brydee’s unconscious form. Everyone chuckled.  
“Yes, purely wake up for Ryder’s sake.” Alex chimed in and she walked into the room.  
“Yeah, duh I am the most important person here.”  
“I’m pretty sure if she were awake right now she’d chose to go straight back to sleep with you harping on.” Alf said. Everyone chuckled.  
“He’s right you know, you’ll put me back to sleep.” Brydee said groggily. Everyone froze, looking at the woman lying in bed.  
“She’s awake!” Ryder yelled.  
“Go get Tori, hey it’s Alex. You’re okay.” Alex tried to comfort her. Tori came bursting into the room. Brydee smiled at Alex.  
“Hi Brydee, I’m Doctor Morgan, feel free to call me Tori, everyone else here does. I’m just going to do some quick assessments, is that okay?” Tori asked. She smiled brightly at Brydee. Brydee nodded, she felt so tired. She looked around her, all of the Stewart’s and Alex were standing around her.  
“Okay can you lift your hands, okay now push down. Good good.” Tori said nodding to herself. She asked a few more things from Brydee before concluding that her cognitive function was up to standard.  
“What are you all doing here?” Brydee croaked out.  
“Well you took a week long nap see.” Ryder mocked.  
“We didn’t want to leave you alone.” Alex said. Brydee noted the desperation in her voice, the woman had clearly struggled.  
“I’m sorry.” Brydee whispered.  
“Don’t be, you didn’t flog yourself over the back of the head with a rock.” Alf huffed.  
“Is that what happened?” Brydee inquired.  
“We were sort of hoping you could tell us.” Martha said.  
“I was arguing with Bella, I turned to go and tell Colby something, I can’t remember what and then I felt searing pain and then nothing.” Brydee told them.  
“I’m going to notify the police that she’s awake.” Tori said.  
Brydee reached out to grab Alex’s hand, the doctor looked like she was about to be sick.  
“Are you okay?” Brydee asked. Alex couldn’t help the tears that fell.  
“Is it okay if I hug you?” She barely whispered.  
Brydee laughed. “Of course not, get in here.” Brydee wrapped her arms around the doctor who immediately started crying. Roo joined in on the hug and started comforting Alex.  
“I was so worried.” Alex sobbed.  
“Nah, it takes more than a whack to the head to keep me down.” Brydee reassured the Doctor.  
“Yes well let’s try not to scare us like that again, okay?” Roo asked.  
Brydee chuckled. “Where’s Willow? I expected her to be sobbing by my bedside with Alex.”  
Brydee watched the Doctors face drop. Alex couldn’t find the words.  
“A lot has happened this past week.” Roo said squeezing her hand.  
“She’s okay though, right?” Brydee asked, a hint of panic in her voice.  
“Yes of course, she’s fine.” Alex reassured her.  
The unit door burst open, Lieutenant Bentley charged in.  
“Sir.” She nodded.  
“You gave us a right scare. We need to talk, I need statements.” He said to her.  
“We also need to talk.” Alex said in a very quiet voice. Brydee looked at her, it was clear to Brydee Alex was more desperate to talk.  
“Alex first, can everyone give us a minute please?” Brydee asked of them. Everyone shuffled out of the room.  
“What’s wrong?” Brydee asked once everyone left.  
“I saw Bella hit you, I was a ways back but I saw the argument and you turned away and she picked up the rock. I froze, I’m sorry.” Alex said through tears.  
“Hey, Alex, You have nothing to be sorry for. Don’t cry, it’s okay.” Brydee tried to reassure her.  
“It isn’t okay. You didn’t see you, I was so scared, Brydee. And then Willow didn’t believe me..” Alex trailed off.  
“Wait she what?” Brydee raised her voice accidentally. Alex gave her a sad smile.  
“I told everyone about Bella but Willow went into denial, she refused to believe me. Bella lied and said she didn’t. Willow asked me to keep what I knew from the police, until you woke up. She didn’t want-” Alex was starting to hyperventilate.  
“Okay, it’s okay. I understand. She wanted to protect Bella, but not believing you is a bit much. I’m assuming you were the first on the scene?” Brydee asked.  
Alex nodded. “Yeah, Mac and Dean a little while after but they didn’t see anything.”  
“Okay, well I’m awake now. Willow will have to deal with the fact that she was wrong but it’s okay, you and Willow will move past this. You two are strong.” Brydee said, squeezing the woman's hand. Alex sighed, slowly.  
“Willow and I.. well we broke up a couple of hours ago.” Alex admitted.  
“Oh.” Was all Brydee could manage. Her thoughts started racing, it was her fault, she knew it.  
“It wasn’t your fault, don’t protest. She doesn’t trust me, Brydee and you haven’t been here. It’s been toxic. I still love her but we need space, we need to be able to trust each other.” Alex said.  
“I know and Willow- it’s Bella, Willow has looked after her and been a role model to her for years. She would have hated being stuck in between and in denial.” Brydee said softly.  
“You’re right. But that doesn’t excuse her behaviour.” Alex said sternly, looking Brydee in the eyes.  
Brydee sighed. “No, it doesn’t. I’m sorry. I tried to not get in the road but I’m not sure Bella would have let it go no matter what. I could have left town and she would have still been out to get me.” Brydee said, exhausted.  
“I’m not sure what happens now, she could have killed you…” Alex trailed off.  
“I give my statement and you give yours. I’m not going to let them lock her in a cell and throw away the key Alex. I’ve said from the start she needs help and she’s going to get it. Now it’s just going to be compulsory instead of voluntary. She’s young, she has the chance to change. I know Colby, if there’s any shred of him in her than I have hope for her.” Brydee reassured the Doctor.  
“You can do that?” Alex asked in wonder.  
“I can try. If we get the right team and judge, yes. Most people will see that she needs help and not a jail cell. My Lieutenant, the man who was in here before, I’ll convince him that she needs help and his word should go further.” Brydee explained.  
“Even after she beat your head in with a rock you’re trying to do what’s right, how can you be so kind?” Alex asked.  
“Come on, you’re a doctor. It’s your job to help people, if the roles were reversed you’d want to help her too.” Brydee said.  
Alex shook her head. “I know theoretically you’re right but I’ve been so angry this past week.” She sobbed.  
“It’s okay to feel angry, Alex. You watched someone beat me over the head with a rock.” Brydee stated.  
“It wasn’t just that, I watched her step over you like it meant nothing. She didn’t even check for witnesses she just… walked off.” Alex finished.  
Brydee sighed. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” Brydee squeezed her hand reassuringly.  
There was a knock at the door, Willow made her way in slowly.  
“Hi.” She said shyly.  
“Nice of you to visit.” Brydee joked.  
“Sorry I wasn’t here when you woke, your rooms been kind of crowded. Not that that’s a bad thing..” Willow trailed off.  
“You’re forgiven now come and hug me.” Brydee demanded jokingly.  
They hugged, Willow whispered sorry again into her ear. There was an awkwardness in the air.  
“Alex, do you mind telling Lieutenant Bentley I’ll speak with him shortly. I just want to talk with Willow first?” Brydee asked Alex.  
“Of course, I’ll see you later?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah, I’m going to be bored outta my brains in this place.” Brydee said, grinning at her.  
Alex nodded before leaving the room.  
“So..” Brydee said. Willow looked up at her.  
“So..” She said back. “What happened?” She asked.  
“I’d say you already know but you refused to take Alex at her word.” Brydee had said it rather calmly but Willow could feel the slight venom in her words, it made her flinch.  
“I’m sorry..”  
“It’s not me you need to say that too.” Brydee said.  
“I tried and then she dumped me.” Willow grumbled.  
“Knowing you, you wouldn’t have sincerely apologized. You couldn’t have, not if you didn’t believe her.” Brydee pointed out.  
“I know, I just.. I couldn’t accept that Bella could do that.” Willow said through tears.  
Brydee sighed. “Neither could I, why do you think she got the jump on me. I never expected her to hit me let alone pick up a rock and beat me with it.” Brydee said, shaking her head.  
“What will happen to her?” Willow asked, despair in her eyes.  
“Like I just told Alex, hopefully I’ll be able to convince the higher ups that she needs help and not to be locked away. They may still want her in a facility but I can’t really defend against that because honestly, that’s probably what she needs.” Brydee said.  
“But you won’t let them put her in jail?” Willow asked almost in disbelief.  
“Of course not Willow. Despite what she thinks, I have a heart.”  
“Thank you. I’m so glad you’re awake, it hurt seeing you lying there and then with everyone being here it just got too much. I didn’t feel like I belonged, I’m sorry for not being here.” Willow said, throwing herself into Brydee’s arms.  
“Shh, it’s okay. You’re here now, that’s what matters.” Brydee said softly, playing with Willow’s hair to soothe her.  
“I messed up.” Willow cried.  
“Love like you and Alex have, it doesn’t just disappear. Maybe time will be good, I know it doesn’t feel like it now but you’re both hurting. Sometimes time is the best thing.” Brydee said.  
Willow laughed. “I took time with Justin and with Dean and both of those relationships ended.”  
“Yeah but they aren’t Alex. We both know she’s ten times better than them.” Brydee admitted.  
“Yeah, you’re right. They’re both shitheads.” Willow stated.  
“Exactly.” Brydee chuckled.


	35. Chapter 35

“You expect me or anyone else to have sympathy for her? She attacked an officer, Brydee.” Lieutenant Bentley stated. Brydee had given her statement the day before, she was tired from not getting any sleep and was over trying to make people see reason.  
“I know, I’m the officer remember, the throbbing in the back of my head keeps me from forgetting. I’m just saying, she’s had a traumatic upbringing. She needs mental health help, not a jail cell.” Brydee pushed. He scoffed.  
“This is the sister of the man we had acquitted for murder. You telling me it’s a coincidence that they both have a tendency-”  
“That was different. Ross was a horrible man, he deserved what he got. He wouldn’t have left Colby or Bella alone, you know that.” Brydee said. He huffed. “I’m not condoning what Bella did, far from it. But if we don’t help her, the person who leaves prison will be ten times worse than what she is now. You know what the system’s like. If you won’t do it for her please, do it for me.” Brydee begged him. She knew it would work, he always had her back. He glared at her. She decided to pull out her phone, she went to the music app and started playing a song they both loved.  
“As long as the planets are turning, As long as the stars are burning, As long as your dreams are coming true, you better believe it-” Brydee had a wicked smile on her face, she knew the old man couldn’t resist.  
“THAT I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE, OH I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE, OH I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE, BUT I WON’T DO THAT, NO I WON’T DO THAT!” The pair sung together, they both started laughing.  
“You know that might be the worst song to convince me with, “No I won’t do that.” Maybe I should take the song's advice.” He said.  
“You know as well as I do that I’m right. Now can we agree and move past this, I want it settled.” Brydee stated.  
“Alright. Fine, you win. Now blast the music.” He said, smiling at her. She was glad he was here, from the moment he pulled her out of that fight all those years ago he had been a constant in her life. She relies on him when she knows she shouldn’t but she couldn’t help it, much like Roo, he came into her life and there was no looking back. He jumped up on the chair and started doing an air guitar riff. She burst out laughing.

Alex had come back, when she had gotten to the door she heard them singing about and smiled, she stood outside, giving them a moment to themselves.  
“You’re lucky you didn’t die on me, I would have been incredibly annoyed if I never got to hear you play the piano. You finish that song yet?” He asked. Alex didn’t mean to eavesdrop but the sentence struck a chord with her, it was something she had been thinking as Brydee laid there, she had wanted to hear her sing and play the song she had been proud of yet sad to have finished, Alex wondered if this man knew how deep it meant to her.  
“I did finish it, yeah. A while ago actually. Once I finished it I got excited and I thought of Jai.. I couldn’t bring myself to play it after that.” Brydee admitted to the man what she had admitted to Alex a few weeks ago. Alex shook her head, it seemed crazy to her that she had only known Brydee for a few weeks, the woman had come into her life and made an indent on her heart very quickly.  
“You should try again, I’m sure there’s a bunch of people who want to hear it. And I’m guessing by the fact that they never left your bedside, those people are like family. They’ll be there for you. Jai wouldn’t want you to hide something so beautiful.” The man told her. Alex could have cried at how beautifully the man spoke, he really seemed to care for the younger woman.  
“They are like family, they took me in and have looked after me, they’re really good people. Alex as well, and I’m not sure if you met Willow?” She asked.  
“Briefly, I’m guessing that’s “the Willow” ?” He assumed.  
“Yeah, you’ll have to meet her properly, she’s pretty great. Everyone here is actually.” Brydee smiled at the memories she had made recently. Alex also smiled, but at the way Brydee lit up talking about them all. Alex cleared her throat before walking in.  
“I didn’t mean to pry but I am in agreeance with Lieutenant Bentley, I would have been annoyed if I never got to hear you play.” Alex said, she winked at the woman.  
“Please, call me Lincoln, or Bentley, you don’t have to be official around Brydee or I.” He said sincerely.  
“Lincoln, ew.” Brydee mocked.  
“Which is why most people call me Bentley.” He jokingly glared at her.  
“Also you two can’t gang up on me, that’s unfair.” She stated.  
“So sorry that we want to hear you play, how very rude of us.” He said. Causing Alex to laugh.  
“Well I don’t have my laptop, nor do I have a keyboard or piano. So..” Brydee trailed off.  
“What happened to your keyboard?” He asked.  
“Do you really have to ask?” She shot back.  
“You broke it I’m guessing.” He summed up.  
“Listen, I got upset about Jai and things just happened.” Brydee said with amusement in her voice, she had raised her hands in front of her chest acting all innocent.  
“I’ll get one of the officers to grab your laptop, is there anything else you want from storage?” He asked.  
“Nope. Everything in there reminds me of Lance. That’s the last thing I need.” Brydee sighed.  
“Right, just the laptop. Let me make a call.” He said before leaving the room.  
“How are you feeling?” Alex asked.  
“Sore, aside from the throbbing in my head my bones just feel ache-y, Tori doesn’t want me up on my feet just yet and it’s driving me insane. Will you help me up? We could go for a walk-” Brydee asked.  
“Absolutely not. Tori is a smart woman and a fine Doctor, she’ll have her reasons for keeping you in bed.” Alex said.  
“She’s not really my type though.” Brydee smirked.  
“Oh wow, hitting on your doctor are you?” Alex teased.  
“God no, I mean if you want to take over I’m sure I could put on the charm, actually maybe you should. I’d have more of a chance at being allowed to walk around.” Brydee said.  
“No you wouldn’t” Alex said with humor in her voice.  
“Please, you would absolutely cave. I’d give it an hour maybe.” Brydee teased.  
“I’ll have you know I’m less of a push over when I’m in doctor mode.” Alex said proudly.  
“Oh, I’m sure you are.” Brydee said, seriously. Both of them realized that the conversation had become flirtatious, they both panicked and went quiet.  
“Sorry.. I tend to do that when I’m nervous.” Brydee admitted.  
“What, Flirt?” Alex laughed.  
“Sort of, flirting, mostly just rambling. Making jokes at important moments. It happens. It’s how I cope.” Brydee shrugged.  
“I don’t mind, I guess it just feels a little different now.” Alex said.  
“Because you aren’t with Willow?” Brydee asked, slightly confused. She tilted her head.  
“More so because you nearly died.” Alex admitted.  
“Ah two things I am at fault for.” Brydee said with a sad smile.  
“You are at fault for neither. I would blame Bella if I were to blame anyone.” Alex shook her head.  
“Willow’s sorry if that helps.” Brydee said quietly. Alex smiled sadly at her.  
“It’s going to take some time for things to heal, I thought we trusted each other. She made it very clear we didn’t so we need to work through some things and honestly, I think we need to work on those things separately.” Alex admitted.  
“I understand that, maybe you should talk to her again. It might be easier to explain things and maybe it won’t hurt as much.” Brydee suggested.  
Alex smiled at her, no matter what all Brydee wanted was for both of them to be happy and not hurting and Alex couldn’t have admired her more.  
“You’re right, I might duck out and see her now, if that’s okay?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah of course it is. I’m sure someone will rock up and keep me entertained.” Brydee smiled at her.

Alex text Roo to let her know she would be out for a little while, she still felt compelled to make sure someone was with Brydee even though she was safe and awake now. Roo replied instantly thanking her and telling Alex there would be dinner waiting for her when she got back to the hospital, she smiled. She text Willow asking to meet up, Alex wanted to talk privately so she asked her to come over to Alex’s place. Not long after Alex heard a knock on the front door.  
“Hey, come in.” Alex greeted her.  
Willow had that shy little smile on her face that Alex couldn’t help but melt at. This was going to be hard.  
“Hey, is everything okay? Brydee is she-” Willow was about to ask a million question, Alex stopped her before she started.  
“Brydee is fine, I just wanted to, actually she encouraged me to talk to you. There’s some important things and I know it’s been a whirlwind of a time but I thought we could sit down and properly talk.” Alex suggested.  
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Willow told her. They sat down on Alex’s couch. Alex started to get nervous, she wasn’t sure how to tell Willow everything she needed to.  
“Hey, it’s just me. Whatever you need to talk about, I’m here.” Willow soothed.  
Alex sighed. “I really do love you.”  
“I know, I love you too. There’s definitely a but coming, right?” Willow teased.  
Alex grimaced. “Yes. I meant what I said the other day. I think we need space and some time to heal, I thought we trusted each other and the past week has just completely flipped my world upside down.” Alex said.  
“I know, I’m so sorry Alex. I know I should have done better, I wish I could have, for us. I just could not accept what you were saying. It’s not that I didn’t believe you, I know it looks that way which I fully understand but it was more about me not wanting to admit that Bella could be capable of doing that than it was of not believing you and,” Willow took a deep breath. “I know that’s probably very confusing and doesn’t make much sense. You deserved better than how I treated you and for that I’m sorry. You were right. I just didn’t know what to do with that Alex. I wanted so much for Brydee to wake up and tell me it wasn’t Bella..” Willow trailed off, emotion poured through her words. Alex’s heart clenched.  
“I know how hard it must have been, I know you love Bella. You understand though, where I am coming from?” Alex asked.  
Willow nodded while fighting back a sob. “I do. I messed up. I’ll give you as much time and space as you need Alex.” She finished.  
Alex nodded. “Thank you. There’s something else of importance I need to talk to you about. Although, I’m not really sure how.” Alex told her.  
“Being honest and open has always been our strong suit.” Willow smiled at her.  
“I’m not quite sure how to explain it all, because I am confused by it myself.” Alex said.  
“One word in front of the other, it’s okay, we are having a calm, adult conversation. You’re in a safe place, Alex.” Willow assured her. Alex was almost positive Willow knew what she wanted to talk about, she had no idea how Willow knew, she barely knew herself.  
Alex took a deep breath, “Seeing Brydee, watching Bella hit her. It broke something in me. I’m sure if it were Mac I would have felt horrible too but it was deeper than that. Watching her, lying there, not responding, it hurt more than I could even describe. I felt how I imagine I would feel if it were you lying there, and that sentiment alone confuses the hell out of me.” Alex admitted.  
“You have feelings for her.” Willow concluded, nodding.  
“I think so. Willow, I want you to know that I didn’t, at least I don’t think I did, when we were alone together and hanging out, when she was letting me push all my problems onto her, there was never anything other than friendship and if there was I was completely oblivious to them. I never once lied to you. This past week my brain has been in over load and I’ve just felt sick because I don’t know what my feelings mean. I love you, more than anything. But seeing Brydee, I’ve only known her for a couple of weeks but the thought of losing her made me want to vomit.” Alex said, she started crying. Willow moved closer to hold her.  
“Shh, it’s okay Alex. It’s okay.” Willow soothed her.  
“How is it okay Willow?” Alex asked through her tears.  
Willow sighed. “I know you weren’t sneaking around my back, I trust you both. I know you have more respect for me than to do that. I know you were honest and I know because it wasn’t until this week when I really stopped and thought about it. You couldn’t pull yourself away from her bed. I wanted to be there, I felt physically sick when I wasn’t but I know you needed to be there and we weren’t seeing eye to eye so I stepped back. It hurt to do so. I couldn’t think beyond her waking up. I wouldn’t let myself think anything other than her waking up, it would have broken me like it did you. I understand how you feel, Al. I’ve felt what you're feeling since I was a little girl. She’s one of the most amazing people I’ve ever known. I was content and happy loving you, so friendship and occasional flirty jokes I was able to live with when it came to Brydee. She’s just so easy to love, I don’t blame you.” Willow admitted, chuckling. Alex looked at her like she was barking mad.  
“Why are you laughing?” Alex asked.  
“Because she would hate this, the last thing she wanted was to get in between us.” Willow explained.  
Alex sighed. “She isn’t though, you understand that right?”  
“Yeah, I understand. But if you tell her she’s going to assume you broke it off with me for her.” Willow said.  
“I don’t plan on telling her. I just hope you know that isn’t the case.” Alex said.  
“I do. We both have to heal and figure out our own stuff, separately. Do you think maybe someday we can have what we did?” Willow asked quietly.  
“Yes, maybe someday.” Alex agreed.  
“I’m glad we talked. It must have been a load off.” Willow assumed.  
Alex nodded. “I never imagined I could have feelings for two people at once, it threw me that’s for sure.”  
“You know that if we were together I would have understood, right?” Willow asked.  
“Would you have?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah I think I would. Maybe not when I was being jealous but you know me, most of the time I’m fairly reasonable. And like I said, I know the feeling. I would have been okay letting you explore your feelings.” Willow told her, squeezing her hand.  
“That sentence sounds so weird and foreign to me. Exploring my feelings. I don’t think I’m ready for whatever that means but I’m glad you understand.” Alex gave her a small smile.  
“So you aren’t going to tell her?” Willow asked.  
“No, I don’t see the need to. It will only upset her and she doesn’t need that right now. Like you, I am happy being friends with her. I’m just thankful she’s alive.” Alex admitted.  
“Ditto.” Willow said, smiling at her. Alex felt a moment of happiness that she had been devoid of all week, she had hope that she and Willow were going to be okay, as well as Brydee.


	36. Chapter 36

Martha had cooked lasagne and brought it up to the hospital, all the Stewart’s were there, Brydee welcomed the company. Lieutenant Bentley had taken off soon after Alex had and apart from the occasional nurse or doctor it was getting rather lonely. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get through the night again. She had been pretty out of it the night before, even then she didn’t sleep but the hours went by quickly, she was with it enough tonight to know she would feel alone. She sighed but kept the smile on her face.  
“You okay Brydee?” Roo asked.  
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She replied.  
Roo and Martha shared a look. Something was wrong but the woman clearly didn’t want to talk about it with everyone around, they dropped it for now. Roo was taken from her thoughts by a knock on the door.  
“Hi, I hope we aren’t imposing?” Alex said shyly. Willow was behind.  
“Course not! Come on in, do you like lasagne? Cooked it myself.” Martha said cheerfully.  
“Yeah, dig in, there’s enough to feed a small army.” Brydee said with a smile.  
“You sound a lot better?” Willow asked.  
“Heads still throbbing but yeah I’m feeling more myself today. Come, sit.” Brydee said, she was glad to see both of them. Roo was plating up lasagne for the two of them.  
“You’re going to love this, Martha is an amazing cook.” Alex bragged to Willow.  
“Suck up much.” Ryder chuckled.  
“Maybe you’d learn a thing or two boy, you’ll go far in life if you use manners and are courteous.” Alf said, giving Alex a smile. Ryder grumbled and nodded.  
“Tori says I could be in here a week or more.” Brydee told Alex and Willow.  
“Why so long?” Willow asked. Brydee looked to Alex to explain.  
“The burr holes. She’s still healing, Tori might also be worried about other bleeds. Brydee’s also a high priority so they will be making sure everything is perfect before discharging her.” Alex clarified.  
“High priority?” Ryder asked.  
“You do remember I saved your ass from going to jail right?” Brydee asked.  
“Right right, forgot you were with the police.” Ryder admitted.  
“Wow, thanks.”  
“Hey, I’m not the one who got taken out by a 17yr old.” Ryder said, laughing.  
Brydee reached to swat him but Ryder was quick and she could barely move. He laughed at her attempt.  
“Could somebody-” Multiple hands went flying at Ryder.  
“OUCH! Alright, quit it, you made your point.” Ryder said, amused. Brydee was laughing, harder than she had laughed in a while.  
“I missed you guys.” She said out loud without meaning too. She went quiet.  
“You realize you were the one in the coma right, it should be the other way around.” Ryder teased.  
“I just meant today, being stuck in bed all day gets boring very quickly.” Brydee admitted.  
“Don’t worry, we’ll be around so much you’ll get sick of us.” Roo assured her.  
“Is there anything you want us to bring, maybe pass the time?” Martha asked.  
“If I think of anything I’ll let you know, thanks.” Brydee said.  
There was a knock at the door. Tori popped her head in.  
“Hi guys, just letting you know visiting hours will be over soon.” She smiled before leaving again. Brydee instantly felt lonely. She tried to suck it up.  
“Thank god, another hour of Ryder and I might prefer the coma.” She joked.  
“Oi, you love it.” Ryder said.  
“We’ll just finish eating and head off.” Alex said. Alex watched Brydee’s face drop, she didn’t want them to leave. “I’ll be back sooner than you think, I have an early shift. I’ll make sure to pop in.” Alex assured her. Brydee smiled at her.  
“You’ll visit tomorrow?” She asked Willow.  
“Yeah, at some point. I’m at the gym most of the day but I’ll try and find time.” Willow squeezed her hand. Brydee nodded.  
“Thank you again for dinner, Martha, seriously I would have starved this last week if not for you.” Alex said sincerely.  
“It was my pleasure, I’m just glad this one's awake now to actually eat with us.” Martha said to Brydee.  
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Brydee said, winking at the older woman.  
“Oh stop it you.” Martha blushed.  
Brydee turned to Alex. “See, if Martha was my doctor I’d be up and about in no time.” She said, grinning.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Martha asked. Alex laughed.  
“Brydee thinks she could sweet talk me into letting her walk around if I were her doctor.” Alex explained.  
Martha scoffed. Willow snickered. “I’m pretty sure Brydee’s right.” Willow said, smirking.  
Brydee burst out laughing. Alex was stunned.  
“It’s not my fault you’re a sucker, Doctor Alex.” Brydee grinned up at the woman.  
Alex shook her head, clicking her teeth. “You better hope I’m not rostered on to you tomorrow, I’ll make your life hell.” Alex promised.  
“Or I’ll get exactly what I want.” Brydee shrugged.  
“Keep me posted on how that goes, although I’m sure we all know who will win.” Roo piped up.  
Willow chuckled. “Well I wouldn’t be too sure about that, when Alex is in Doctor mode she is very authoritative.” Willow said, flashing a cheeky grin. Alex had to hold her tongue, she couldn’t believe Willow was being cheeky with Brydee about her. Alex smiled, she was glad Willow wasn’t showing any signs of anger or jealousy towards Brydee, the woman didn’t even know Alex had any sort of feelings for her, it wasn’t her fault. Maybe Willow really did understand, she did say she had had feelings for Brydee since they were kids, it probably didn’t catch Willow off guard like it had Alex.  
“Alright I think that’s us for the night.” Willow chuckled.  
“Thanks for visiting.” Brydee said, smiling at them both.  
“Don’t get into too much trouble while we’re gone.” Willow teased.  
“You know me, I’ll be on my best behaviour.” Brydee said with a glint in her eye.  
“Text me if you need anything, yeah?” Willow asked.  
“Text me if you’re bored cause I know I will be.” Brydee replied.  
“Try and get some sleep, it’ll help pass the time.” Alex told her.  
“Yeah yeah, go on get out of here.” Brydee rushed them. They said goodbye to everyone, it was just the Stewart’s left now.  
“We should probably head off too, don’t want Tori coming for our heads.” Ryder spoke up.  
“Right, yeah..” Brydee trailed off.  
“Alright well we’ll see you tomorrow.” Martha stated.  
“I won’t be going anywhere.” Brydee huffed.  
“While you all say your goodbyes I’m just going to duck out, I need to do something.” Roo said quickly, they didn’t have a chance to respond to her before she was out the door.  
Roo rounded the corner and found Tori, she was scribbling down on her clipboard. She looked up at the woman approaching.  
“Hi Roo, is everything okay?” The doctor asked.  
“Yeah, I’m just worried about Brydee, I think she’s rather lonely. I wanted to ask if I could stay, even just for a few hours more. I won’t be a hindrance I promise.” Roo said, chuckling.  
“If it’s just you, yeah of course. We just can’t have a whole bunch of people.” Tori replied.  
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Roo said honestly.  
“Really it’s no problem, Roo.” Tori said happily.  
Roo went back to Brydee’s room, Alf and Martha were waiting outside.  
“Ryder wanted to talk with her alone before we left.” Martha explained.  
“Will you be right if I stay here with her? She clearly doesn’t want to be alone and I don’t want to leave her.” Roo replied.  
“Course not love, we’ll take care of him.” Alf promised. Ryder made his way out of the room.  
“How is she?” Roo asked.  
“Don’t think she wants to be left alone, can’t say I blame her after everything.” Ryder said.  
“I’ll see you later, or tomorrow. Depending on what happens.” Roo told him.  
“You’re staying?” Ryder asked.  
“Yeah, Tori said it was okay.” She clarified.  
“I could stay too?” Ryder wondered.  
“It’s probably best if we don’t overcrowd the place.” Martha told him.  
“Don’t worry, you’ll be able to see her tomorrow, go and get some rest.” Roo told him.  
She said goodbye to them and headed back in, Brydee looked up at the door reopening. Her face lit up.  
“Here I was thinking you’d left without saying goodbye.” Brydee joked.  
“Actually I’m going to stay a while, as long as you want me here.” Roo stated.  
“But Tori-”  
“Tori gave me the okay.” Roo assured her.  
“Thanks Roo, I wasn’t enjoying the idea of being here alone. I’m not usually like this, it’s just hard being stuck and having no control over it.” Brydee admitted.  
“I know the feeling, would you believe me if I told you 2 years ago Ryder hit me with a car and I ended up in hospital for days?” Roo asked with humor in her voice.  
“If it were anyone else, no, but it is Ryder so yes. You were okay?” Brydee asked.  
“They put a device in my lower spine to relieve the pain, it hasn't bothered me for over a year now.” Roo clarified.  
“Well that’s good, didn’t want to have to beat him up for something dumb he did 2 years ago.” Brydee said, amused.  
“He learnt from it. Actually Ryder has learnt a lot since moving here.” Roo said.  
“I can see how much he loves you, and Alf and Martha.” Brydee stated.  
“He’s a good kid. How are you feeling?” Roo asked.  
Brydee shrugged. “Okay, I just want to be able to move around and have my independence back, it’s driving me a little insane.” Brydee admitted.  
“Well we can ask again tomorrow, if I offer to help maybe Tori might change her mind.” Roo pondered.  
“Hopefully, in the meantime would you mind boring me to sleep? I’m sure stories of Ryder will do the trick.” Brydee suggested. Roo laughed.  
“I’m pretty sure stories of Ryder will keep you awake.” She stated.  
“We’ll just have to find out.” Brydee said, trying to hide her smile.


	37. Chapter 37

5 a.m. Rolled around way too fast. Alex felt like she had only just closed her eyes before her alarm was going off. She grumbled before getting ready for work. She made her way into the hospital, she noted it had become a little easier ever since Brydee had helped her. It felt like months ago, she couldn’t believe it had only been a few weeks. She shook her head, she wanted to catch Tori before she left. She got lucky, the pair basically ran into each other at the entrance.  
“Tori!” Alex called out.  
“Alex, Hi.” She replied.  
“I wanted to talk to you about Brydee before you left.” Alex said.  
“Right, yeah you’ll be looking after her today.” Tori said aloud.  
“Yeah, she mentioned you not wanting her moving around, she seemed pretty keen on getting out of bed. I just wanted to know if there were any updates and where she's at progress wise.” Alex said.  
“The surgeons wanted her on bed rest for as long as possible but yesterday she seemed a lot better, the first day out of surgery she was fairly groggy but that seems to have gotten better. I recommended she start physiotherapy today and called in a specialist to help, the plan was to do some basic examinations just to make sure she's on the right track. If she seems up to it I don't see the point in delaying.” Tori concluded.  
“Thanks Tori, enjoy your day.” Alex smiled before heading up to emergency.  
She decided to check in on Brydee first, it was still fairly early so the Doctor tried to be extra quiet. She opened the door to find Brydee fast asleep and Alex was shocked to see Roo asleep in the chair next to her. She smiled at how peaceful they both looked, she backed out of the room and shut the door, she would come back later when they were both awake.

Roo stirred awake at the sound of a muffled laugh, she rubbed at her eyes and searched for the sound. She found Brydee clearly trying to contain her laughter.  
“What are you laughing at?” Roo said groggily.  
“Just how you were sleeping, your mouth was hanging open and you were falling over the edge of the armchair.” Brydee said, chuckling.  
“Well some of us don’t have a bed to sleep on.” Roo shot back.  
“Okay, tonight you can have the bed, promise.” Brydee said.  
Roo glared at her, knowing full well the Doctors wouldn’t allow that.  
“You’re lucky I love you otherwise I’d let you fend for yourself.” Roo blurted out. Roo felt the blood rush to her face, it wasn’t a secret that she deeply cared for Brydee but the older woman didn’t want to scare her off with how deeply she really did care for her so she had kept that bit of information to herself, until now.  
“I am very lucky, you’re right.” Brydee said, Roo noted the younger woman had a pink tinge to her cheeks as well. “I feel the same, you know, the word you said, I have trouble saying it but, ditto.” Brydee finished, she mumbled the last part out. Roo’s heart clenched at Brydee’s admission, of course she struggled with love, all her life most of her love had been ripped away from her.  
“I’ll always be here, no matter what.” Roo promised.  
“I know.” Brydee smiled. A soft knock at the door was followed by Lieutenant Bentley walking in.  
“Hey kiddo.” He said softly. Roo noticed the pink tinge turn bright red on Brydee’s face, the older man clearly embarrassing her. Brydee stared at him with her mouth open.”  
“What? Keep your mouth open any longer and you’ll catch flies.” He said.  
“You know Brydee works fine, or officer, Sarge even.” Brydee threw at him.  
“You were in a coma for a week, I’ll call you whatever I damn please. Don’t scare me like that again.” He scrutinized her.  
Brydee mumbled something incoherent.  
“What was that?” He asked.  
“Nothing Sir, just praising you.” She said innocently.  
There was another knock at the door, Brydee was delighted to see it was Alex.  
“Couldn’t keep away from me, huh?” Brydee said with a smirk.  
“I’m here on Doctor duties.” Alex said, amused.  
“Ah, so I can convince you to let me walk, wonderful.” Brydee said excitedly.  
“Actually Alex I wanted to talk to you about that, I can help.” Roo offered.  
“As can I.” The older man said, Alex was taken aback by his offer, he really must care about his officers.  
“Yeah with all of us there should be no reason why she can’t, right?” Roo asked.  
Alex smiled and nodded. “I’d like to do some basic examinations but I think we will be able to have you up and walking today.” Alex confirmed.  
“Okay well examine away Doc, the sooner we get her up and running the better.” Bentley said.  
“How about we let you have breakfast first, don’t want you running around on an empty stomach. I’ll be back after you’ve eaten.” Alex said before taking off. Brydee couldn’t wipe the smile off her face, she couldn’t wait to be back on her feet.  
“I just wanted to come in and see you, I’ve gotta go and do some important stuff today so I’ll be out for a bit, hopefully when I get back you’ll be up on your feet, if not I’ll be here to help.” The older man said to her.  
“Thanks.” She smiled warmly at him.  
“Roo do you need me to get anything? Hopefully they feed you but I can bring some food back just in case?” He offered.  
“That would be lovely, thank you.” Roo said genuinely.  
Not long after the nurses brought around breakfast, they kindly gave Roo some of what was left after the patients got theirs.  
“At least breakfast isn’t too bad.” Brydee stated.  
“I think it helps that you are still tired from waking up, the expectation for food isn’t that high.” Roo stated.  
Brydee laughed. “I think you might be right.”  
Alex rounded the corner to hear Brydee laugh, she couldn’t help but plaster a smile on her face at the sound.  
“Knock knock.” Alex said as she came into the room.  
“Doctor Alex.” Brydee said with a smile.  
“I just wanted to let you know the Physiotherapist will be here in about fifteen minutes to start your rehabilitation.” Alex informed.  
Brydee looked at Roo, confusion written on her face.  
“Rehabilitation? It’s not like I can’t walk.” Brydee stated.  
“It’s just the term we use, because you’ve been in bed for 10 days and you have a head injury, your legs will have lost certain muscle strength and may take a little bit to get used to the feeling again, it’s just a formality. You’ll be back on your feet fairly quickly.” Alex tried to assure her.  
“Right, yeah, makes sense.” Brydee nodded mostly to herself.  
“I’ll check in after to see how you’re doing.” Alex said before turning to walk away.  
“Wait, you aren’t staying?” Brydee asked.  
Alex tried to ignore the hurt and disappointment that was in Brydee’s voice, she was vulnerable and probably felt like she had no control over her life at the moment, it wasn’t directly caused by Alex. She took a deep breath.  
“Usually the physiotherapists prefer to not have us doctors hanging around, it’s easier for them to do their job, I won’t be far away though, if you need me.” Alex explained, hoping she reassured Brydee a little.  
“Okay.” Brydee said quietly.  
“Plus, I’ll be here.” Roo gave her hand a squeeze. She smiled sadly up at Alex, clearly the older woman had noticed the disappointment in Brydee’s voice too.

It was almost 15 minutes down to the dot when the physio walked in.  
“Hi, Brydee Devin?” She asked.  
“That’s me.” Brydee said to the woman, she would have been close to Roo’s age, Brydee was grateful about that. After Alex had left Brydee was partly relieved, she had been disappointed at first when the Doctor said she wouldn’t be there and then she realized just how embarrassing this might be so she was grateful it wasn’t a young hot doc helping her today.  
“Alright, we are going to take it nice and slow, you need to be honest with me about any pain or dizziness you might be feeling, okay?” The woman asked her.  
“Yeah, let’s do this.” Brydee said confidently.  
They had barely made it to the door before exhaustion set in, she really had underestimated how much time she had spent in the bed. She pushed forward anyway. They both slowly made their way down the hall.  
“Once we get back to the unit I say we call it a day.” The physio told her.  
“But I can do more.” Brydee stated.  
“You should be proud of what you have achieved today, it was no easy task, let’s not push you though.” She said gently.  
Brydee huffed, she wanted to keep going. By the time they got back to her unit she had some what changed her mind, while she didn’t want to get back into bed her body was screaming at her to do so. She felt quite lightheaded as she reached the door, it wasn’t the same as when she fainted on Jade, it felt different somehow. Before she knew what was happening she heard screaming, she wasn’t sure why. She heard a thud come from what she assumed was next to her before the world faded away.


	38. Chapter 38

"PAGE DOCTOR NEILSON!” One of the nurses yelled. Roo stood in place, looking down at the young woman she cared for like a daughter, her body convulsed and there was nothing Roo could do to stop it. She remembered the Morgans with Raffy, they would talk to her while it was happening to her, sometimes she heard them and it comforted her.  
“Brydee it’s Roo, everything will be okay, Alex is on her way.” Roo wasn’t sure if she could hear her but it gave Roo comfort at that moment. Alex and a team burst through the doors.  
“What happened?!” Alex asked the physio.  
“We were returning to her bed when she collapsed, she started convulsing, going on a minute and a half now.” The physio stated.  
“Okay page theater and let them know we are coming, book in another CT scan again.” Alex said to the nurses.  
“Surgeons are ready, Doctor Neilson.” The nurse on the phone responded.  
“Okay good, I need you two to get her up onto the bed once the seizure stops, we’ll have the surgeons on standby while we get her CT done.” Alex stated.  
“Alex, what’s happening?” Roo asked, panicked.  
“She’s having a seizure, it could be a side effect of the trauma or it could be that she has pressure built up again in which case she’ll need surgery.” Alex told Roo. Roo just nodded, she couldn’t understand how this was happening.  
Alex took a moment, she looked at Roo, the woman looked like she had been slapped in the face.  
“This can happen with head trauma, it isn’t uncommon. She’s in the best hands she can be, that’s why we planned on keeping her in, bleeds can happen or pressure can build up again, we won’t know until we get the scans. I’ll let you know what’s happening as soon as I do Roo.” Alex assured her. Roo nodded and watched them wheel Brydee’s bed away. She sat down in the chair unsure of what to do. She heard heavy footsteps approaching. Brydee’s Lieutenant burst through the door. He must have seen them come out of her room.  
“What happened? That was Brydee being taken away?” He asked.  
Roo couldn’t form words, she kept stumbling.  
“I.. she.. I..”  
“Hi, you must be the rugged handsome Lieutenant the others have been gossiping about. I’m Jasmine, Jasmine Delaney I’m one of the nurses here.” Jasmine introduced herself.  
He nodded and shook her hand, usually he would have made a joke about the nurses gossiping but he didn’t have it in him.  
“Lincoln Bentley, what happened?” He asked.  
“Brydee had a seizure, they’ve taken her up for a head CT now and the surgeons are on standby if they need to operate. As soon as I know more I’ll let you know.” She explained.  
“I don’t understand, how?” He asked.  
Roo spoke up. “Alex said it isn’t uncommon, that sometimes there can be bleeds or the pressure can build up again, that’s why they wanted to keep a close eye on her.” She clarified.  
The older man looked like he was going to be sick.  
“I can’t lose her.” He said aloud.  
“You won’t, she’s got the best people looking after her.” Jasmine reassured him.  
“You care about her.” Roo pointed out.  
He looked at the woman, she was curious as to why an older man who held power over Brydee cared so much. He sighed.  
“She’s my daughter.” He admitted.  
Roo and Jasmine’s eyes widened, they weren’t sure why that piece of information was so shocking.  
“Brydee told me she didn’t know who her father was.” Roo stated.  
“We’ve never talked about it, I think she knows, she’d have to. But she was content having me in her life as just her Lieutenant and I was just thankful I got the chance to be in hers at all. I didn’t know, I only found out I had kids when I got a phone call saying my son had been killed in a car crash. I found Brydee not long after, she was a mess. I gave her an opportunity to make something of herself and she took it.” He admitted.  
“You think she knows?” Jasmine asked.  
“Brydee is one of my best officers, she’s smart. I’ve never pushed the subject because she always tried to keep things professional. When Lance died, she cried in my arms for hours. That’s when I was positive deep down, she knew. I don’t think she wants to admit it to even herself though, can’t say I blame her, all her life she has fended for herself, it’s in her nature.” He told them.  
“I think she could use her dad right now.” Roo said softly.  
“Which is exactly why I’m here.” He said honestly.

Jasmine was headed towards the operating rooms to try and see about an update on Brydee, as she got to the doors Alex walked out. Jasmine noted how exhausted the young Doctor looked.  
“Everything okay, in there?” Jasmine asked, nodding towards the room. Alex jumped at the voice, she hadn’t expected anyone to be up here.  
“Pressure built up again, they have to drill into her brain, again.” Alex sounded defeated, Jasmine could hear the pain in the woman's voice.  
“She’s strong, Alex. She’ll get through this.” Jasmine assured her.  
“I should never have had her cleared to walk.” Alex said, annoyed at herself.  
“Alex, these things happen. She had to start walking eventually.” Jasmine pointed out.  
“But what if she wasn’t ready? What if I pushed her too much?” Alex asked.  
“From what I hear she was ready to get out of bed no matter what anyone told her, best she did it under supervision.” Jasmine shrugged.  
Alex laughed. “You have a point.”  
“Want me to tell her dad and Roo?” Jasmine asked. Alex looked at her confused.  
“Her dad?” Alex questioned. Jasmine slapped her hands over her mouth, she hadn’t even realized what she had said. She scolded herself.  
“Yeah, the Lieutenant and I’m guessing by the look on your face I probably shouldn’t have said that, whoops.” Jasmine hadn’t meant to put her foot in it.  
“Does Brydee know?” Alex asked, partly shocked.  
“He seems to think so but they don’t talk about it.” Jasmine answered. Alex nodded.  
“I’ll tell them.” Alex stated. She walked back to Brydee’s unit with determination, she had found the courage to put on a brave face so she wanted to get this over with before her walls fell down. She basically marched into the room.  
“Alex.” Roo said, Alex thought she heard relief in the woman’s voice.  
Alex gave her a small smile.  
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” The man asked.  
“They’ve had to operate which means they’ve had to perform burr holes again.” Alex clarified.  
She watched the man who claimed to be Brydee’s dad take in a deep breath, Alex could feel his pain.  
“But she’ll be okay?” He asked.  
“So far the surgery is going well and she is stable, we will need to keep her in longer and have more frequent scans to check for pressure building up again, it’s going to be a long process for her but she will bounce back, I’m sure of it.” Alex explained. She held her head high, she was struggling to keep her confidence and courage in check. She knew Brydee was strong but that didn’t make it any easier for Alex, doubt found its way to seep in.  
“Thank you Alex.” Roo said quietly. Alex’s demeanor wavered, she turned away and pretended to check the charts. A soft hand was placed on her shoulder.  
“It’s obvious you care deeply about her, it’s okay to fall apart.” It was Brydee’s father that spoke.  
“I’m a doctor, I should be able to handle this.” Alex said, as the words slipped out she was brought back to Mason, standing in front of her worrying about Tori. She had tried to comfort him by telling him he was a brother first and that’s a difficult mix.  
“You’re human, you have a connection with her, I’d be more concerned if you weren’t struggling.” Roo admitted.  
“Just because you’re the smartest person in the room doesn’t mean you have to be the strongest. Showing emotion isn’t weakness.” Bentley assured her.  
“I know, it’s just if I start I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop and so I need to remain strong. For now anyway.” Alex confided.  
“That’s understandable.” He agreed.  
“If and when you need, I’m here Alex.” Roo stated softly.  
“When my shift finishes I’ll most likely stay here and wait, if that’s okay?” Alex asked.  
“Of course it is. I er, I don’t have any of her friends numbers. Willow wouldn’t know..” He trailed off.  
“I’ll call Willow, I’ve already told Ryder, they’ll spread the word I’m sure.” Roo told them.  
“Thank you, Roo.” Both Alex and Bentley said.

Alex went to check in with the surgeons, Brydee was stable, Alex breathed a sigh of relief, it wouldn’t be too long before they finished. She walked back out to the nurses station, she needed to check on her other patients before she clocked off.  
Alex heard the elevator doors ding open.  
“Alex!” her head shot up at the sound of her name, it was Colby. She turned around to find Colby and Willow walking towards her.  
“What happened? Roo said she had a seizure?” He asked, on high alert.  
“She did, she’s in theater at the moment. They had to perform burr holes again to relieve pressure build up.” Alex told them. She hated how exhausted she sounded.  
“Will she be okay? Is it bad that this has happened again?” Willow asked.  
“It isn’t uncommon although we had hoped it wouldn’t happen again. Her recovery time will be longer and she’s not going to appreciate how thorough we are but we can’t risk this happening again.” Alex admitted.  
“Can we see her?” Colby asked, there was desperation in his voice, Alex wondered whether he was upset over his childhood friend being in such serious condition or whether he was worried for his sister. Alex shook herself, he was kind and compassionate, of course he cared for his friend.  
“Possibly, when she’s out of surgery but Roo and er her Lieutenant will be first to see her, they are shaken, Roo witnessed it happen and I think it’s taken a toll on her.” Alex confessed.  
They nodded.  
“I might go check on her.” Colby said before walking off.  
“Hey, how are you doing?” Willow asked her softly. Alex nearly buckled, she couldn’t talk. Alex made her way towards her office, Willow in tow. She closed the door behind Willow and started to cry, the woman wrapped her arms around her.  
“It’s okay Alex, it’s okay.” Willow soothed as Alex sobbed into her neck. She moved them to the chair, Willow placed Alex in the seat while Willow hung to her from the armchair, she rested her chin on Alex’s head.  
“I’ve had to deal with seizures most of my life but watching someone you care about go through it.. It’s horrible.” Alex admitted.  
“I’m sorry you had to experience that. You know she’ll be okay though. Brydee is a fighter.” Willow said rubbing her back.  
“She was so excited to get up and walk.” Alex said.  
Willow chuckled. “I bet she was, I’m guessing she’s going to have to deal with hard-ass Doctor Neilson when she wakes?” Willow asked.  
“Oh yes, she’s not getting out of bed anytime soon and after we’ve run a million tests.” Alex promised mostly to herself. Willow chuckled.  
“Good. Hey, is something up with the old dude?” Willow asked her.  
“What do you mean?”  
“He’s just been here, a lot. He looks at me funny, I’m not sure why or-” Willow started.  
“Oh,” Alex interrupted.  
“Oh?” Willow questioned.  
“Well, I’m not supposed to know, Jas spilled the beans. I think Roo has only just found out and Brydee we aren’t sure actually knows although he thinks she does based on certain things.” Alex rambled out.  
“Knows what?” Willow asked.  
“The Lieutenant is her Dad.” Alex told Willow.  
“Oh, ohhhh. Yeah, that makes sense.” Willow said, nodding.  
“It does?” Alex questioned.  
“Yeah, he looks at me though he knows me, like he’s trying to figure something out. It makes sense, she’s probably told him about me and the others.” Willow clarified. Alex had tipped her head up to look at Willow, the woman's legs were wrapped around her body to comfort her.  
“Willow..” She whispered, causing the woman to look down at her. Alex cupped her face and kissed her, it was a soft kiss, they lingered on each others lips as they held each other in place. Alex wanted more, she wanted to feel, she wanted to feel anything but despair so she deepened the kiss, she slid Willow down on top of her. She moaned at the feel of her. Alex’s tongue demanded entry into Willows mouth and the woman obliged. They continued making out for a few minutes, Alex could feel the endorphins letting loose in her brain, she felt good, she wanted to feel more. She snaked her hand under Willow’s top, gliding it over the woman’s stomach, she had missed this. Alex pulled her closer, Willow broke off the kiss to get some air, both women were panting.  
“We shouldn’t.” Willow whispered.  
“The last time I heard those words it was me telling you that, drunk outside of the surf club.” Alex chuckled.  
“So chivalrous.” Willow teased.  
“I don’t want to be. Not right now.” Alex told her. She kissed Willow again, she kissed her back but sighed.  
“I guess I have to be.” Willow muttered.  
“Why?” Alex asked.  
“Because you’re hurting, Alex. I love you but we shouldn’t do this. Not while you are confused.”  
“Willow..” Alex whispered.  
“It isn’t love, this, what you want right now. It’s sex and god I’m going to regret declining you later but I don’t want sex Alex, I want you, all of you. I’m okay, giving you space, letting you explore your feelings but I know I’ll hurt myself if we do this. I don’t want to hurt.” Willow confessed.  
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to feel anything but how I’ve been feeling, that’s not fair on you.” Alex admitted. Willow smiled sadly at her. She lent back in and kissed Alex lightly, it was soft and meaningful. Alex sighed.  
“I’d be down for more kissing but I get the feeling that might be too hard.” Willow offered.  
Alex smiled softly at her. “I wouldn’t want to stop. You’re right, it would hurt us both if we continued. I’m sorry. I just felt so defeated today.” Alex admitted.  
“I understand, I’ve felt lost, without you and without Brydee. Everything just seems so.. Hopeless. Like something is off with the balance in the world. I get it Al, really.” Willow explained.  
“Glad it wasn’t just me. I need her to be okay, besides how I might feel this world needs her, we all need her.” Alex stated.  
Willow nestled herself into Alex’s side.  
“We really do.” Willow agreed.


	39. Chapter 39

Roo was startled back to reality by voices coming from outside the room, she had sat in silence with Brydee’s father for some time now. It felt almost comforting, having him there, she wonders how that conversation is going to go down with Brydee. They wheeled Brydee into the room on her bed. The bandage wrapped around her head seemed more prominent than before, like it was there to remind them of how fragile she was. She watched the man take his daughter’s hand.  
“She asked me to speak with my superiors, to ask them to show Bella sympathy, to get her help instead of taking more serious action. I agreed, I shouldn’t have. What if she doesn’t get better? And I’ve promised her I’d make sure the girl didn’t end up in prison.. What then? I can’t betray her but I can’t let the kid off. What am I supposed to do?” He asked, Roo wasn’t sure whether he was asking her or just venting out loud but she decided to answer anyway.  
“You keep fighting. Brydee won’t give up, neither will you. She’s strong, keep holding onto that. I know it’s hard, I feel so helpless. But we just need to be here and give her our love and support.” Roo stated.  
He nodded. “Thank you, I haven’t heard Brydee as happy as I had on the phone to her in a long time. She was excited about staying here, making a life here. I think you had a big part in that, so thank you.” He said quietly.  
“No need to thank me, she saved Ryder from being falsely accused of horrendous things and has genuinely been amazing to have around. It’s hard to imagine life without her now, it’s been roughly 3 and a half weeks since I first met her, it feels like years ago. She’s very special.” Roo stated.  
“That she is, I would give anything to be able to talk to Jai. Sometimes, the way she talks about him, it’s as though he never left. I feel as though I know him but I know it’s only through Brydee’s memories.” He admitted quietly.  
“I’m sorry.” Roo whispered. There was a knock at the door.  
“May I come in?” Willow asked.  
“Of course.” Roo nodded.  
Willow sat on the side of Brydee’s bed, she took her free hand and held it in her own.  
“Alex?” Roo asked.  
“She was doing her rounds when I left her, she’ll probably be in shortly, I know she’s anxious to see Brydee.” Willow explained.  
“Now if she would just open her eyes again..” Bentley said.  
“You’re the B, right?” Willow asked him.  
“Sorry?” He asked, confused.  
“Brydee B Devin and oh..” Willow looked off into the distance.  
“Jai L Devin. Lincoln, yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s how Brydee pieced it together.” He explained.  
“For someone who isn’t following could you explain, please?” Roo asked.  
“Lincoln Bentley. Their mum gave them my initials as their middle names.” He chuckled.  
“Her middle name is just.. “B” ?” Roo asked.  
“Sure is, as kids that was my special nickname for her, I know Jai used it also but I think it was only Jai and I. I think it’s hard for her to hear that name now.” Willow explained sadly.  
Both of them looked at her and smiled.  
“Must have been hard, she didn’t lose you, not like she did Jai but…” Bentley trailed off.  
“We haven’t been in contact for 8 years, I guess in a way we did lose each other. It feels so natural, rekindling after all this time.” Willow smiled.  
“You didn’t believe your girlfriend about what happened.” He stated. Willow felt like a child being roused on.  
“I was in denial, the girl who did it she’s like a sister to me. I couldn’t contemplate her being capable of this. I know I messed up, I just hope some day I can make up for hurting Alex.” Willow admitted. Willow noticed the man was looking over her shoulder. Alex was standing in the doorway, she smiled sadly at Willow, she had heard everything. Willow knew how much it was hurting Alex being separated but after they had discussed things more calmly the other day Willow was feeling better about it all, she knew Alex loved her but they both needed time to heal, Bella attacking Brydee had thrown everyone. She regretted not trusting her, she also knows Alex knew Willow had regrets but now wasn’t the time for them to patch their relationship. Willow looked back to Brydee, she looked ten years younger asleep, like how she did before Jai, sweet and innocent. She understood how Alex had come to care about her, she was incredibly special. Willow tried not to dwell too much on the future, whether or not Brydee would develop feelings for Alex didn’t phase her, she knew Brydee had a kind heart, so did Alex, they would figure things out. Willow hopped up off the bed and offered Brydee’s hand to the Doctor. Alex cleared her throat.  
“I’m still on the clock, I just wanted to check in. The nurses will be around soon to do some obs. We are hoping she’ll be awake in a couple of hours. Everything went well, as well as could be expected anyway.” Alex clarified.  
“So, no coma?” Bentley asked.  
“They had to put her under for surgery, she was in and out of consciousness so her brain was still active so, no, no coma. Don’t expect her to wake up and be on her feet, though, she’ll be groggy and sleepy for a while.” Alex answered.  
“That’s better than a coma.” Roo said. He nodded with her.  
“What happens next?” He asked.  
“Once she’s well rested we will schedule her in for more scans, I want to keep a thorough eye on her. I don’t want anything else jumping out at us from out of the blue. She just needs bed rest and then when she’s up to it she can go back to the physiotherapist but I would like to run extra scans before we get to that point just for good measure.” Alex informed them.  
“I’m not going to argue with being more thorough, although I’m sure Brydee will just love that.” He said, amused.  
“Well Brydee is just going to have to suck it up. No more scares.” Willow stated.  
“No more scares.” They all agreed.  
Bentley brushed Brydee’s hair back gently, he let his hand rest in her hair. He was sure she would whack it away if he tried to do that while she was conscious.  
“D-dad?”  
He froze, he knew it was Brydee, he wasn’t even sure why he froze but he did. He felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up, it was Roo, she was looking down at Brydee.  
“He’s here, I think he’s in a bit of shock.” Roo answered.  
“Come on old man, you knew this info before she did, snap out of it.” Willow said, amused.  
Brydee smiled. Her eyes were still closed, she was too exhausted to open them.  
“Willow..” She responded.  
“You think having a seizure would get rid of me? Not likely.” Willow joked.  
“Al-” Brydee’s voice gave out on her. “Alex?”  
“I’m here,” The doctor assured.  
“I can’t see.” She croaked out.  
“You’re exhausted, your body probably isn’t ready to fully wake up yet. Try and get some more sleep, your family will be here when you wake up.” Alex told her.  
“Family.. Ryder, is he here?” Brydee asked, everyone noted the panic in her voice.  
“He’s at Salt, he was going to come by when he finished.” Roo explained.  
Brydee’s smile came back. “Roo.” The older woman took her hand and gave it a squeeze.  
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else..” She whispered.  
“Why don’t we take the Doc’s advice and let you get some sleep.” Her dad suggested.  
“You just want to get out of the dad talk.” Brydee said, amused.  
“No, I’ve been waiting for this moment for years, but you need to rest.” He told her honestly.  
“Yeah.. yeah, I guess I could sleep..” Brydee mumbled before falling straight back to sleep.


	40. Chapter 40

“Thanks for letting me know, Will. Yeah, thanks, you too, bye.” Colby hung up the phone.  
“Tell me it’s good news.” Dean said.  
“Brydee was conscious a little while ago, they expect her to wake back up in a few hours. She’ll be okay.” He almost cried.  
“Mate come on, she’s tough. She’ll pull through.” He tried to reassure him.  
“I just can’t believe my little sister did this. It makes me sick. On top of that I’m stressing about what’s going to happen. I hate myself, Dean. Bella should be the last thing on my mind..” Colby started.  
“Oi, listen here. You know for a fact Brydee would think less of you if you weren’t concerned about your sister. She’s family, mate. She messed up, big time and she definitely needs help. Of course you’re stressing, this is next level man.” Dean said, it seemed to help Colby a little.  
“I guess you’re right. I just feel stuck, I know Bella wants me to help but I can’t. It isn’t like what I did to Ross. Brydee..” Colby stopped. He couldn’t continue.  
“She would never hurt us, unlike Ross. Mate, I know. Hopefully once Bella gets the help she needs she will see that too. Just don’t give up, yeah?”  
“Yeah, you’re right. I won’t give up on either of them. Brydee will pull through and Bella will get help, she’ll be okay.” Colby tried convincing himself.

Willow walked back into Brydee’s room, she noticed a man standing outside the door in uniform.  
“Brydee has security?” Willow asked.  
“You don’t think Bella will try and hurt her again do you?” Roo asked, panicked.  
“Woah, let’s stay calm, I’ll go and see who it is, she doesn’t have personal security. I was pretty positive no one was going to get past you and your family, Roo.” Bentley said, smiling at her. He left the room leaving Roo blushing.  
“Lieutenant.” The man said, nodding. “I’m here to deliver the stuff you asked for, Brydee’s personal belongings, they’re in my car out front. I didn’t want to bring them in just in case, hospital rooms aren't massive.” The younger officer explained.  
“Ah yes, thanks for grabbing them on such short notice.” He held out his hand for the officer to shake.  
“No problem at all Sir, happy to help. Would you like me to bring the stuff up?” He asked, shaking the hand offered.  
“Yeah, I’ll come and give you a hand.”  
Bentley smiled when he saw a wrapped present.  
“Do I dare ask?” The young officer asked, smiling up at him.  
“Just a present I’m sure she will find useful. I’ll grab that, you get the laptop.” He told the man.  
He lugged the present back to Brydee’s room, a smile plastered on his face.  
“Wow someone is getting spoiled.” Willow teased.  
“What are dad’s for?” Roo joked.  
“Well I missed how many birthdays? I’d say this is well earned.” He said, tripping over the end of her bed. Having the present in the room with them made for little space to move around. There was a chuckle from the door.  
“You can keep it in my office if you like?” Alex offered.  
“For your kindness I’ll pretend like you didn’t just laugh at me.” He said to the doctor.  
“I wouldn’t say laughed..maybe chuckled?” Alex teased  
“Mhm, lead the way Doc.” Bentley picked up the gift and smiled, following Alex to her office.  
“Is that what I think it is?” She asked, there was amusement in her voice.  
“Most likely, why? You sound amused.” He questioned.  
“Excited more like or wondrous.” Alex clarified.  
He smiled and nodded. “Keep it to yourself though, I want it to be a surprise.” He admitted.  
“Of course your secret is safe with me, she’s going to love it.” Alex smiled.  
“I hope so, she could use the pick me up.” He said honestly.  
“Things will get better Bentley, trust me, I’m a doctor.” Alex said, winking at him playfully.  
He chuckled. “I see why Brydee has taken a liking to you.”  
Alex blushed. “Oh, well, yeah, I-” Alex stumbled over her words.  
Bentley laughed. “Calm down, your secret is also safe with me.” He smiled at her knowingly.  
“What?” Alex asked, she looked like a deer caught in headlights.  
“Doctor Alex Neilson, I’m a Senior Lieutenant, you think I haven’t noticed the way you care about her? You and Willow both care about her deeply and it’s more deeper than just friendship. I heard about you finding Brydee, it sent you into complete shock.” He clarified.  
“It did. Before that moment I didn’t realize just how much she meant to me I mean I’ve only known her a couple of weeks it all just seems so crazy.” Alex blurted out. He smiled at her.  
“She had the same effect on Roo, although hers is motherly affection. Don’t feel guilty-”  
“I’m not-” Alex interrupted.  
“Yes you do. I don’t blame you, it’s confusing. But don’t feel guilty about caring, we could use more caring in the world and to be frank with you my girl could use all of it. She says she’s fine but she isn’t. Lance understood her, the way they were together.. They were best friends. It devastated her and I don’t think she really understands why.” Bentley admitted.  
“I know and I plan on being there for her as much as possible but I don’t plan on telling her about my feelings. It will just hurt her and she will blame Willow and I breaking up on herself and I don’t want that.” Alex admitted.  
“And she isn’t?” He questioned.  
Alex shook her head. “No, Willow and I need to heal and for right now we decided it’s best to heal alone. Her not trusting me about Bella hurt deeper than I care to admit.” Alex revealed.  
“There’s something else that you aren’t saying.” He pressed.  
Alex sighed. “When it was bad, when Brydee was still in a coma.. The thought had crossed my mind that she would have believed me, no matter what.” Alex admitted. She held back her tears.  
“It’s okay, you don’t have to hide. If you need to cry, cry.” He sat down in the chair across from Alex’s desk, he motioned her to sit in her chair.  
He continued. “That’s a perfectly normal response to have, Alex.” He said gently.  
“Is it?” She asked.  
“Tell me something, before all this, would you have had the same thought of Willow?” He retorted.  
“Yes I would have.” She replied instantly.  
“Exactly. Brydee and Willow are fiercely loyal, it’s a trait they share. Of course you thought that, you were desperate for Willow to believe you and when doubt started spreading you thought of Brydee.” He said, sympathetically.  
Alex nodded. “I guess so, part of me feels like I’m betraying Willow. She knows how I feel and she understands, even admitted to feelings of her own that have been there since they were kids. She’s actually been really supportive.” Alex told him.  
“I think you were expecting Willow to be angry, to have her push guilt onto you and because she didn’t you are trying to make up for it. Why though?” He questioned.  
“Because I love Willow, it feels wrong and confusing to have feelings for someone else.” Alex admitted.  
“Does it though? Or are you just thinking that because you assume that’s what everyone else will think if they knew, because having feelings for multiple people isn’t the “social norm”? I understand you being confused, of course you are this is something that has probably never happened to you before. But try not to let your thoughts take over and definitely don’t care what others might think. You just take care of yourself, okay? I won’t say anything to Brydee, I understand your concern there and I think it wise to let her recover. But don’t think, just live in the moment. Enjoy life hey?” He spoke wisely to her. Alex could feel the tears sting her eyes. He seemed so wise, in this moment he reminded her so much of Brydee.  
“I see it now, you’re definitely her dad.” Alex said, chuckling and wiping at her tears.  
He sighed. “It feels good, having people know, hearing her call me dad. I could have cried happy tears.” He admitted to her.  
“Brydee will be okay, I’ll make sure of it.” Alex promised him.

Alex and Bentley walked back to Brydee’s room in a comfortable silence.  
“I’m just about to finish, would you like me to go and grab some food? I might head home and shower so I can grab us all something on the way back?” Alex asked the room.  
“Brydee mentioned a place that sells pizza’s? She told me the food was good but the people were even better.” Bentley asked after.  
“That’s Salt, Mac owns it. She’s a friend of ours and Brydee.” Willow clarified.  
“I’ll give her a call and order ahead?” Roo asked.  
“Sure thing, text me a time and I’ll be there.” Alex replied.  
“Do you think she’ll wake tonight?” Willow asked Alex.  
“Maybe, it’s hard to tell, seeing as it’s nearing dark her body may just decide to sleep through. Or she may wake up at 2am, we just won’t know.” Alex answered softly.  
“Can I get a lift back with you? Colby seemed pretty angsty on the phone I wouldn’t mind checking in.” Willow explained.  
“Yeah of course.” Alex answered.  
“You’ll let me know when she wakes?” Willow asked the room.  
Roo and Bentley nodded. “You’ll be on the top of our list.” Roo promised.  
“Thank you.” She squeezed Roo’s hand. Willow hopped up and followed Alex out.


	41. Chapter 41

Alex had freshened up and was on her way up to salt, Roo had ordered ahead for her. She felt completely exhausted yet wired.  
“Hey, haven’t seen you in a while. Feels like forever.” Mac said to her.  
“Yeah, sorry. I’ve been at the hospital a lot.” Alex explained.  
“No need to apologise, Alex. I figured as much, how is Brydee? I heard she had a seizure earlier?” Mac asked.  
“Yeah they had to take her in for surgery again, she woke up for a couple of minutes but we urged her to get some more sleep but she’s doing well.” Alex informed her.  
“I’m glad to hear it, I’ve wanted to stop by. I just wasn’t sure if I should, I barely know her but she hasn’t left my mind much. It was rather crowded when she was first brought in.” Mac explained.  
“It’s quietened down a fair bit, only one of the officers frequent her room now along with Roo and I, sometimes Willow and Colby and the other Stewart’s. I’m sure they would love to see you.” Alex said.  
“Will you let me know when she wakes up? I’ll come in and see her.” Mac decided.  
“She should be awake tomorrow if everything goes as planned but yeah I’ll let you know.” Alex told her.  
“Thank you, Alex. Oh here, your order is ready.” Mac said, delighted. Mac handed over the pizzas.  
“How much do I owe you?” Alex asked.  
Mac shook her head. “It’s on the house. Give my love to everyone yeah?” She asked.  
“Of course, thank you Mackenzie.” Alex said gratefully.

Brydee was still asleep when Alex returned. Ryder had joined them while she was gone.  
“Hope everyone’s hungry.” Alex said, entering the room.  
“Starving!” Ryder exclaimed.  
“Smells good.” Bentley noted.  
“Mac said to send her love, pizzas were on the house.” Alex told them.  
“Oh how lovely of her.” Roo commented.  
“I’m guessing she’s another one who’s smitten by our Brydee.” He chuckled.  
“That and Mac’s cool.” Ryder told him.  
“Friends of hers?” He asked.  
Ryder had a mouth full of pizza. “Work for her but yeah I’d say we are friends.”  
“Small town.” Bentley said, shaking his head.  
“Yes and not so sleepy like one would assume.” Alex piped up.  
“What do you mean?” He asked her.  
“I had no idea what I was in for when I first arrived. I was covering Tori’s maternity leave. It also just happened that she was in protective custody. Jasmine had a bodyguard with her at all times, it was quite full on.” Alex remarked.  
Bentley nodded. “Jasmine, Ryan’s wife?” He asked. They nodded.  
“That whole case was a mess.” He shook his head.  
“It definitely made going to work a lot harder.” Alex told him.  
“You were part of the siege?”  
“Yeah, it was horrible.” Alex admitted.  
“I’m sure it was.” He agreed.  
“We are safe now though, that’s reassuring." She said.  
Bentley looked at her, puzzled.  
“How do you know that?” It was Roo who asked. Alex realized that not everyone in the room was aware of what happened. She could have kicked herself.  
“Feds got involved, can’t tell you nothing more than that but Alex is correct, you’re all safe from them now.” He nodded.  
Roo looked over to Brydee. “That’s why she was here.” Roo said.  
Bentley grumbled a yes. Roo nodded.  
“Hopefully now she will be able to find some closure with Lance.” He said, he felt exhaustion wash over him. He couldn’t help the yawn that escaped.  
“You should get some sleep.” Alex pointed out.  
“What if she wakes up?” He asked.  
“I start early again, I plan on staying the night. She won’t be alone.” Alex told them.  
“It might do us a world of good to be well rested when she wakes.” Roo offered.  
He sighed. “Look after her.” He said to Alex.  
“Of course.” She nodded, Roo left with him.

Alex woke up suddenly, she checked her watch, 2:30am. She had dozed off for a few hours. She looked over at Brydee who was still fast asleep. Alex breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She decided it might be best to get up and move around a little to keep herself awake, Alex’s body was used to sleeping in small intervals due to doctor’s hours. She got up out of the chair which creaked slightly. Brydee made a noise, it was partially a hum and a humph, like a child would make when they don’t want to get up. Alex tried to suppress a chuckle.  
“Something funny Doctor Alex?” Brydee asked, she sounded groggy but very much awake. Alex froze.  
“How long have you been awake?” Alex asked.  
“Not entirely sure, long enough to assess you’re adorable when you sleep.” Brydee said, Alex couldn’t see the smile due to her eyes still adjusting to the darkness but she knew Brydee was smiling.  
“Would you like me to tell you just how cute and fragile you look when you’re asleep? ‘Cause after this last week I’m not sure I’ll be able to remove the image of you lying there.” Alex threw back at her.  
“I apologize for getting smacked in the head by a child, I’ll make sure to not let that happen again. It’s on the top of my list of things to avoid.” Brydee told her, smugly.  
“Add, not walking for at least a week to that list.” Alex said, sternly.  
“What?! A week? You’re joking.” Brydee exclaimed.  
“You had a seizure Brydee, we don’t take that lightly.” Alex explained.  
Brydee sighed. “I’m sorry, I felt strong enough. I don’t know what happened.” Brydee admitted.  
“We should have been double checking and doing more scans to make sure you were ready.” Alex said, Brydee watched her face fall. She blamed herself.  
“Alex, this isn’t your fault. I felt fine. I’ve seen enough head trauma and hospitals to know you don’t do CT scans willy nilly, these things happen. Don’t punish yourself.” Brydee told her.  
“Well from now on we will be doing CT scans all willy nilly, no arguments.” Alex used her doctor voice.  
“If it will make you feel better, I won’t argue.” Brydee said quietly.  
“I’m sure you’ll kick up a fuss.” Alex teased.  
“True. I didn’t say I’d like it, nor did I say I would be quiet about it, I just said I wouldn't argue. Prepare to hear me complain, a lot.” Brydee jested.  
“Fine by me, I’d rather hear you complaining than have you unconscious and not talking at all. I’ve missed you.” Alex admitted.  
“What’s that? Didn’t quite hear you.” Brydee asked playfully.  
“I said I’ve missed you.” The doctor said more vocally.  
“I’d say I’ve missed you too but being unconscious has the perk of time being irrelevant to me.” Brydee said.  
Alex smiled. “You’re a dork.” The doctor pointed out.  
“Oh I’m very aware, theoretically speaking though, I definitely missed you.” Brydee clarified.  
It got a chuckle out of Alex, Brydee was pleased with herself, she hated to think the doctor had been beating herself up over her.  
“Roo and your dad will be back up in the morning, I told them to go get a good night's sleep.” Alex informed her.  
“Right, Dad. I forgot I let that slip.” Brydee said softly.  
“I think with all the panic going on it sort of slipped from him too, Jasmine found out who let it slip to me who naturally told Willow-”  
Brydee chuckled. “So everyone knows.”  
“Well not everyone everyone but yeah I think word has gotten around.” Alex said sheepishly.  
“I never told him I knew.” Brydee admitted.  
“If it makes you feel any better, he knew.” Alex offered.  
“He did?”  
“Yeah he was pretty sure you would have figured it out.” Alex clarified.  
“It was pretty obvious, it took me longer than I care to admit though.” Brydee sighed.  
“He has hardly left, he’s been here just as much as Roo has.” Alex told her.  
“I figured as much, I know he didn’t know. He’s too kind to have just given us up. It wasn’t a coincidence he showed up just after Jai died.” Brydee pointed out. Alex nodded.  
“How are you feeling?” She asked.  
“Are you asking as my doctor or as my friend?” Brydee replied.  
“Both, I’m genuinely interested to know how you are but I also need to legally make sure you’re okay.” Alex said with a slight smirk.  
“Well I’d tell doctor Alex I’m fine and I’d tell friend Alex that my throat is dry and killing me.” Brydee admitted. Alex chuckled.  
“I’ll go and get you some water.” She offered.  
“Thank you.”

Alex walked back into the room with a cold bottle of water, she looked up and saw Brydee was eyeing her curiously.  
“What?” She asked with amusement.  
“You seem down.” Brydee stated. The statement rocked Alex a little, she had thought she had done a good job at hiding how she felt.  
“Do I?” Alex said, putting on her doctor's face.  
“Stop that. I see you. When you walked in just now you were looking at the ground, sadness and something else was written on your face. I can’t quite figure out what else it is. You can talk to me Alex, I’m stuck in a hospital bed, I have nothing but time to listen.” Brydee told her.  
Alex sighed. She handed Brydee the water and sat down in the chair next to her bed.  
“You remember how I told you I saw Bella hit you?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah, you mentioned Willow didn’t believe you. I’m guessing you two haven’t worked things out?” Brydee asked, sadly.  
“Well no, we haven’t but Willow and I are okay, it hurts but we both know it’s what we need right now.” Alex told her softly.  
“Okay so if it isn’t Willow?”  
“Watching Bella hit you threw me. Seeing you-” Alex took a deep breath, she was barely able to keep it together.  
“If it’s too hard you don’t have to tell me.” Brydee offered. Alex smiled sadly.  
“When I ran over to you I was panicked, obviously I saw Bella whack you over the head but I went into doctor mode and then I saw you and I went into shock.” Alex admitted. Brydee held the woman’s hand and let her continue.  
“I deal with traumas all the time, I see bodies all the time but seeing you lying there lifeless and bloody it hurt so much and it still hurts, I still see you. And then you had a seizure and I thought I might lose you again and-” Alex sobbed.  
“Come here, I’d come to you but I’m not sure I can move just yet.” Brydee tried to lighten the mood. Alex moved onto the side of the bed Brydee had motioned too. Brydee took Alex in her arms and wrapped her in a hug.  
“I’ll try my best not to scare you again. I’m sorry you had to see that Alex.” Brydee whispered.  
“I keep telling myself I should be able to handle it and then I see Mason and him saying the same thing to me when Tori was in a coma and it all just becomes too much.” Alex admitted.  
“Shh, it’s okay, you’re allowed to feel Alex, you’re human. It’s what we do. Can I be honest with you about something?” Brydee asked.  
“Of course.” Alex sniffled.  
“I get it. The shock you felt. It’s why I couldn’t bring myself to see Lance, they had to get his father in to identify his body. I just couldn’t put myself through that pain again.” Brydee said quietly. She felt Alex stiffen.  
“Your brother…” Alex said, barely audible.  
“No one else was there to identify him. It was one of the most horrific moments of my life. Which is why I couldn’t with Lance.” Brydee explained.  
“I’m so sorry.” Alex breathed.  
Brydee squeezed Alex just a little bit tighter.  
“Don’t be hard on yourself. I deal with bodies a lot too but seeing someone you know, someone you care about.. It isn’t the same and you shouldn’t be ashamed that it hurt you. I’m honoured that you care so much.” Brydee said, smiling. Alex play slapped her arm.  
“I do care.” Alex admitted.  
“I know. Get some sleep Alex, I’ll be here when you wake, promise.” Brydee said sincerely but with a touch of humor.  
“Sure you won’t run off?”  
“Couldn’t even if I wanted to, which I don’t. Not every day I get to hold a cute doctor in my arms.” Brydee teased.  
“Keep it up and I’ll kick you out the bed.” Alex replied. Brydee was happy to hear the smile in her voice.  
“Yes ma’am. I’ll remain quiet.” Brydee promised. Alex was going to argue and tell her she didn’t need to sleep but the Doctor was out moments later, fatigue had set in. Brydee paid attention to the doctors calm breathing before she too dosed back to sleep.


	42. Chapter 42

Alex woke up around 6:30, she heard the bustling outside of the morning starting for the hospital. She started in an hour, one of the main reasons she stayed over night was due to starting early and knowing Brydee would wake early in the morning. She was glad to get to spend time alone with the woman, the short time she was awake she had been fussed over by the Stewart’s and Bentley, Alex hadn’t minded but it was nice to get a moment to themselves. Alex was glad to confide her fears at what had happened to her. The thought of Brydee made Alex aware of said woman wrapped around her, Alex could feel the Brydee's breath on her neck and her arms were huddled around her. She had clearly cuddled into Alex while they had slept. Alex smiled, she wanted to watch Brydee sleep but she knew if she moved it would most likely wake her so she remained where she was for a little while longer.

7o’clock came around and Alex decided she would get up, hoping she wouldn’t wake Brydee. Alex tried to unlatch the woman’s arms from around her and tried to slip away but Brydee’s body protested. She groaned in her sleep and pulled Alex back into her body. Alex had to stop herself from laughing, not quite successful but she managed to chuckle instead of being too loud.  
“What’s funny?” Brydee asked, Alex became hyper aware of just how close Brydee was to her. She was clearly still out of it even if partially conscious.  
“Oh just the big bad federal sergeant holding onto me and whining when I tried to move away.” Alex teased  
“I don’t whine.” Brydee whispered. Alex was sure the woman was still very much asleep.  
“No?” Alex asked playfully before trying to move away.  
“Mnnnnn” Brydee whined. Dragging Alex back to her. Alex laughed. She turned her body to face Brydee who was very much still asleep, her eyes were closed and her breathing calm. Alex couldn’t help the smile that plastered itself on her face. Alex booped Brydee’s nose. She watched as Brydee’s muscles reacted and her eyes flutter open.  
“Good morning sleepy head.” Alex teased. Brydee tensed at realizing just how close the two were. She removed her arms from around Alex and looked anywhere but at Alex.  
“Morning.” She said quietly.  
“I shouldn’t have woken you.” Alex said. Brydee looked up at her.  
“Why?” She asked.  
“Because I enjoyed you being cute and half asleep responding to me.” Alex told her, amusement in her voice.  
“Oh god, what did I say?” Brydee asked.  
“Nothing, you just tried to deny whining.” Alex clarified. Brydee looked at her wide eyed.  
“Why in the hell was I whining?!” Brydee whispered loudly.  
“I tried to move and you pulled me back to you in protest. I guess I’m comfortable.” Alex explained. Recognition washed over Brydee’s face.  
“Ah, I’m sorry. Don’t tell my officers I’m a cuddler.” Brydee said quietly, embarrassed.  
“What, you don’t cuddle your team?” Alex asked with sarcasm, she smirked.  
Brydee huffed. “They think I’m a badass, I can’t ruin my reputation. Lance was sworn to secrecy.” She informed the doctor.  
“Please, you’re a total softy. I’m sure they already know.” Alex said.  
“I am not!” Brydee crossed her arms over her chest.  
“Ahuh, you wanna pout some more?” Alex was enjoying the banter.  
“You’re so going to regret that.” Brydee promised.  
“Oh really? What are you going to do? If I get off the bed you won’t be able to follow me.” Alex smiled brightly at her.  
“One day Doctor Alex, one day,” Brydee said confidently.  
“Whatever you say.” Alex kept grinning at her like she had won some sort of battle. Brydee wasn’t about to let her win so easily.  
“I’ll get Willow to extract revenge on you. You won’t be so smug then.” It was Brydee’s turn to smirk. Alex sighed internally, the woman had no idea that she could do just about as much damage to her as Willow could.  
“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I shouldn’t have brought her up.” Brydee apologized. Again, Alex had forgotten how well this woman could read her, she could sense the mood shift.  
“You didn’t do anything, it wasn’t about Willow.” Alex half explained.  
“I find that hard to believe but I won’t push you, will you be here today?” Brydee asked. Alex could have sworn she heard hope in the woman’s voice but convinced herself she was being silly, Brydee was just feeling alone and scared, anyone would in her situation.  
“I start my shift soon. Roo and your dad will be up, I’m just about to text them to let them know you’re awake.” Alex told her.  
“Right..” Brydee trailed off.  
“Hopefully your recovery will go well this time and you won’t be stuck in bed too long. I’m sorry. I know how isolating it can be.” Alex sympathized.  
Brydee smiled warmly at her. “As much as I would love to have my independence back, I just enjoyed this morning. It was nice, just you and I. Everything feels simpler with you around, I don’t know how to talk to dad about everything and Roo, she doesn’t need this. I’m trouble and I should never have agreed to live with them.” Brydee blurted out.  
“Why would you think that? She cares about you.”  
“That’s the problem.”  
“Brydee.” Alex chastised. Brydee feigned innocence.  
“So why am I the easy factor in all of this?” Alex prompted.  
“I don’t know. You just get me. I know dad will back off if I ask but I’m just scared everything is about to change.” Brydee admitted.  
“So I’m the constant.” Alex chuckled to herself.  
“Oh my god, did you really just compare yourself to a science experiment? Such a nerd Doctor Alex.” Brydee teased.  
“If the shoe fits. I get it. You’re worried things with Roo and your dad will change, because she knows he’s your dad or because you got hurt?” Alex asked.  
“A bit of both. He was scared so he told people and I was scared so I blurted it out and I.. I’m happy with Roo. What if she decides she doesn’t want me around, what if she tries to get me to live with him?” Brydee asked in a panic.  
“Hey, deep breaths okay? There’s no need to panic. You’re an adult. You can choose, you have the control here. They both love you, I don’t think either of them will want to give you up.” Alex admitted with a chuckle.  
“Yeah, sorry I’m being an idiot.” Brydee apologized.  
“No you aren’t. It’s totally understandable to be freaking out, you went from having very little family to a whole bunch. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed but like I said, it’s your life.” Alex soothed.  
“Thank you, I think I’d go insane if you weren’t here.” Brydee admitted.  
Alex smiled brightly. “Well I’m glad to be of help.” She said enthusiastically.  
“I mean it, Alex. I’m sorry this happened, I shouldn’t have provoked Bella. I didn’t mean to cause you any stress.” Brydee said quietly.  
“I know and to be honest, this could have been a lot worse.” Alex told her.  
“This is going to sound crazy but I’m kind of glad it happened, well, not-” Brydee sighed, she couldn’t find the words.  
“Kind of like it’s better for this to happen now and get Bella help than prolong it and the situation turning out much worse?” Alex offered.  
Brydee smiled warmly. “Exactly, took the words right out of my mouth. You know, if I actually could manage to find the words in the first place.” Brydee stumbled the words out.  
Alex chuckled. “It’s okay, just blame it on the brain injury.” Alex winked.  
“Wow hot and smart. But you already knew that.” Brydee teased.  
“Some might even say doctor material.” Alex said, they both laughed.  
“Conveniently dodged the hot remark I see, still can’t take a compliment? I nearly died Alex, the least you could do is accept it.” Brydee smirked.  
“Accept what exactly? Also you can’t use the I nearly died card, that’s unfair.” Alex pouted.  
“That you’re hot. Also also, yes I can because it’s true.” Brydee stated.  
Alex blushed, Brydee was smiling like an idiot. The doctor looked incredibly cute flustered.  
“I swear between you and Willow-” Alex laughed.  
“I have a good eye you know.” Brydee said.  
“Is that right?” Alex asked.  
“You think Willow is hot right?” Brydee asked with a mischievous grin. Alex knew she was being set up but was enjoying herself too much.  
“Of course.” Alex said.  
“So do I. See, good eye. No take backs.” Brydee smirked.  
“I don’t see it.” Alex said shyly.  
“Well I do and I’m pretty sure everyone else does too but I get it, some people know how to embrace their physical features, Willow for example and then people like us who would rather shy away from it.” Brydee speculated.  
“Oh so you think you’re hot too?” Alex teased.  
“God no. Absolutely not.” Brydee cringed.  
“What if I was to say you are? Does being a doctor hold some right to make you have to believe me?” Alex asked, jokingly.  
“Well seeing as you are going to keep me trapped in a bed I’d say you hold all sorts of rights over me.” Brydee snickered.  
“Okay well it seems you are feeling a lot better.” Alex noted.  
“It’s hard not to feel better when I have you as a doctor.” Brydee said. She had a smirk on her face but Alex heard the sincerity in her voice.  
“Speaking of, I need to go. Other patients need me.” Alex joked.  
“I bet they don’t appreciate you as much as I do.” Brydee smiled.  
“Let’s see if you still feel that way in a few days from now.” Alex chuckled.  
“I’ll still be your favourite patient though, even when I’m complaining non stop.” Brydee teased.  
“You think highly of yourself huh.” Alex joked.  
“Please, I may not be hot but I’m incredibly lovable. Haven’t you noticed the mass of people lining up to court me?” Brydee threw back.  
“Unfortunately the only person you’ll be having anything to do with court is Bella.” Alex sniped.  
“Ohhhhhh! You got me good.” Brydee laughed.  
“Alright, I’m really going now. Roo text and said she’ll be up shortly with Bentley. Stay put.” Alex ordered.  
“Nowhere else I’d rather be.” Brydee said sickeningly sweet. Alex rolled her eyes before laughing and walking out.


	43. Chapter 43

Brydee had decided to get a little more sleep before the others got there. She was looking forward to seeing everyone but her nerves wouldn’t reside, she kept tossing and turning, she felt fatigued which she assumed was due to the seizure. She felt embarrassed about that, the whole experience had been rather terrifying for her so much so she woke up and called out to her dad. They had never discussed what they both knew, Brydee had never had the courage. She was grateful he was around and supported her after Jai died but she was much more comfortable having him as a mentor than a father. If she was being honest the moment she realized she had a family here in Summer Bay she had thought of him, Brydee contacted him to specifically ask to have her team based here. She had wanted him to visit, to meet everyone. She just didn’t expect to be lying in a hospital bed hurt and lonely. She sighed. She hated feeling so weak.  
“Now a bad time?” It was her dad, he poked his head in. She couldn’t help but smile at him.  
“No, please. I’m sick of trying to sleep, the company will do me good.” Brydee admitted.  
“Who are you and what have you done with my “I deal with my grief by myself” Sargent?” He asked, voice laced with humor.  
“Honestly, she’s exhausted. Pushing people away and dealing with Lance was easier when I hadn’t been knocked over the head with a rock.” Brydee explained.  
He huffed. “That’s twice in one week you’ve scared the living hell out of me.”  
She glared at him. He knew a sarcastic remark was on its way.  
“Oh I am soooo sorry A 17yr old girl decided to play drums on my head with a massive rock.” Brydee sneered.  
His smile started to drop. “About that..” He trailed off.  
“What? Has something happened?” Brydee asked urgently.  
“No, no. I panicked a little yesterday, if you had of- I panicked about what to do about Bella. I know why you want to help her but she left you for dead Bryd, I don’t think I could have let her get away with it.” He concluded.  
“You mean if I died?” Brydee asked. He nodded.  
“Well I haven’t, you can’t get rid of me that easily. Dad, it’s my choice. Even if the worst happens I want Bella to get psychiatric help, please.” Brydee almost begged him.  
He sighed. “Fine, but no dying.”  
“I’ll see what I can do.” Brydee joked.  
“You aren’t getting out of bed until you’ve been thoroughly checked over, got it?” He said sternly.  
“Please tell me you didn’t give Alex grief.” Brydee asked, concerned.  
“No, of course not. She’s the one who mentioned extra scans. You scared us all kiddo.” He said, sighing.  
“I’m 26, I may not be put together like a normal adult but I’m definitely not a kid.” She said, rolling her eyes.  
“You always will be to me, I never even knew you as a child so you’ll just need to get used to that. No take backs.” He teased.  
“Rude. I was vulnerable and you’re exploiting that.” Brydee jested.  
“And don’t you forget it.” He smirked. “Should we maybe talk about it?” He continued to ask.  
“If you want, I’m not really sure what to say.” Brydee admitted.  
“How long have you known?” He asked.  
“A while, a few years. After I graduated, leaving to do my own thing made me start putting pieces together. You would check up on me more than any of your other officers, then the initials in mine and Jai’s name started gnawing at me. I was okay not completely connecting the dots, even after I started figuring it out I tuned it out.” Brydee told him.  
He was nodding. “I got the feeling you knew but wanted to ignore it.” He said almost sadly.  
“It wasn’t... “ Brydee sighed, she took a deep breath. “I guess I felt guilty. I was torn, it just didn’t seem fair for me to find you and Jai never..” Brydee had to stop, she couldn’t control her voice anymore.  
“Hey, you know Jai would only want you to be happy. He’s probably with your mum, would you hold resentment if he found comfort in her?” He asked her quietly.  
“You think so? He always wanted to meet her, I mean we both did but Jai would talk about her a lot. Do you know what happened?” She asked.  
“I was told she died during childbirth.” He replied. Brydee smiled sadly at him.  
“I don’t really like to think about it. We knew nothing about her, not even her name. I think because of that I just assumed I didn’t have parents. I know it sounds silly but growing up how we did, it was just Jai and I. He was my only family and was all I needed. Having Willow, Dean and Colby growing up was good, they were the family we chose. I’m sorry for not letting you in, I wasn’t ready.” Brydee admitted.  
“And now?” He asked, hope was in his voice.  
“Near death experiences tend to bring people together.” Brydee teased.  
“So… Are you um..” He couldn’t quite get the words out.  
“Am I?” She asked.  
“It’s just, well.. I guess I’m just wondering whether we can continue to use words families would or whether you want to go back and prete-” His voice shook.  
“Dad, chill. I don’t plan on going back on anything. You’re right, Jai would want me to be happy and loved.” She agreed.  
His face lit up. “Good! I mean, yeah, cool. Totally casual about it, not excited at all.” He tried to play off.  
“Ahuh, sure.” She smiled.  
“Oh! That reminds me!” He said before rushing out of the room. Brydee was left sitting there, stunned.  
“What just happened?” She asked herself out loud.

A couple of minutes later he burst back into the room, this time with Alex in tow. She smiled at Brydee, clearly Alex was amused by whatever was going on.  
“Someone’s a tad excited.” Alex pointed out.  
“It’s not every day you get Brydee to admit to wanting happiness and love.” He mocked.  
“Oi!” She exclaimed.  
“He has a point.” Alex teased. Brydee raised her eyebrow at her.  
“If you’re going to take dad’s side, we can’t be friends.” She stated, jokingly.  
“Sorry Bentley, I’m team Brydee all the way.” Alex turned on him quickly. He chuckled.  
“I got your laptop.” He nudged over at Alex who was indeed holding her laptop.  
“And I got you a gift, and before you complain, don’t. Just accept it.” He said.  
“Wow, you have a talent for giving gifts, you really know how to sell it.” Brydee mocked. Alex quietly laughed.  
“Yeah yeah, I know what you’re like, you hate being fussed over nor do you like receiving gifts.” Bentley exposed.  
“Is that so?” Alex asked.  
“Don’t go getting any ideas.” Brydee said pointedly.  
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Alex said, smiling.  
“As much as this flirting is adorable, we have more important things.” He said pointing to the gift on her bed. It was huge, Brydee was taken back by his comment about flirting, she hadn’t realized that’s what she had been doing. She looked at Alex who’s cheeks were flushed.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-” Brydee started to say.  
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” Alex assured her. The statement confused Brydee, when did flirting become okay? She had play flirted with Alex in front of Willow but she never would have alone, she hated the thought of betraying Willow.  
“But-”  
“Oi, kid, the present.” Her dad said.  
“Call me that one more time and I’m going to get out of this bed an-”  
“No you aren’t, I’ll hold you down if I have to.” Alex piped up. Brydee scowled.  
“Fine. I’ll open the darn gift.” Brydee said, defeated.  
She ripped off the top layer of wrapping, it was a keyboard, she sat staring at it.  
“Well, do you like it? I know it’s not a piano, I’m looking into getting one, Roo said we could put one at their house. But you can take this wherever you go. And you can change the sound settings so it sounds more like a piano and-” Bentley was rambling, afraid she wouldn’t like it.  
“Dad… I love it. You shouldn’t have.” Brydee said, shock was clear in her voice.  
“Nonsense, Alex and I both want to hear you play, I’m sure the others do. It’ll give you something to do while stuck in here.” He explained.  
“Pianos are expensive, this is enough please don’t go buying more.” Brydee told him.  
“Roo and I have alr-”  
“I don’t care if you’ve discussed it. They’ll all be annoyed enough at the keyboard.” She said, sternly. There was excitement in her voice though which made Bentley happy. He smiled.  
“You like?” He asked.  
“Of course! I love it. Thank you.” Brydee said.  
“And your laptop.” Alex said, handing the laptop to the woman.  
“Thanks, I’m not sure I’m ready for..” Brydee grimaced. She didn’t really want to explain.  
“It’s okay, go at your own pace.” Alex reassured her. Brydee gave her a warm smile, she understood how hard it would be to hear Jai’s music.  
“Yeah, no pressure. I just thought it would keep you company. Give your brain something else to focus on..” Bentley explained.  
“Come here.” Brydee told him. He was hesitant for a moment. “I won’t bite, promise.” She continued.  
“Unfortunate.” Alex said. Her eyes went wide, she had meant to say that as a joke in her head but she had blurted it out loud.  
“That was a joke! And I wasn’t meant to say it out loud I-” Alex said, flustered.  
Brydee howled with laughter. “Please Doctor Alex, all you need to do is ask.” Brydee said, quite innocently. She was enjoying watching the always put together Doctor crumple into a mess.  
Alex felt incredibly embarrassed, Bentley had taken note that Brydee seemed to find the situation innocent. Alex was lucky Brydee was oblivious to people's affections.  
Brydee ushered her dad over and took him into a hug.  
“Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, it means so much to me. Thank you.” She told him quietly.  
“Least I could do.” Was all he managed to croak out.  
Alex watched the pair, she had gained control of her freak out. Luckily Brydee hadn’t taken what she had said the wrong way. Or.. well she hadn’t taken it the right way. It seemed to fly straight over the woman’s head. Alex needed to stop flirting before Brydee clued on to her feelings. She knew it would crush Brydee if she found out how Alex felt.  
“Do you think Willow will come visit today?” Brydee asked hopefully. Alex smiled at how excited Brydee became at the thought of seeing Willow, she really did care about her.  
“I’ll text her, actually I’ll text everyone. I know there’s a fair few people who want to see you.” Alex informed her.


	44. Chapter 44

A couple of hours later an energetic Willow bounced into the room.  
“Heeyy! You’re awake!” Willow said, she took Brydee into her arms. Brydee could feel her energy picking up just by Willow's presence alone.  
“Yeah I got my beauty sleep.” Brydee joked.  
“Can you stop getting your beauty sleep, I’d rather not have to keep worrying about you.” Willow teased.  
“Oh you know me, I just love the attention.” Brydee smirked. Willow cackled. They both knew she absolutely hated the attention.  
“So how are you feeling?” Willow asked her.  
“Exhausted, Dad would you mind giving us a minute?” Brydee asked him.  
“Of course, yell out if you need me.” He said before leaving the room.  
“Alright, what’s wrong?” Willow asked.  
Brydee looked down at the keyboard. Willows eyes followed hers.  
“Oh wow, when’d you get that?” Willow questioned.  
“Dad gave it to me as a gift.” Brydee explained.  
“Have you played much? You were quite good.” Willow stated.  
“Not after Jai.” Brydee admitted. Willow nodded.  
“Maybe you could just slam your hands on it and make obscene noises and it’ll make you feel better.” Willow offered.  
Brydee chuckled. “I want to be ready, I don’t want to let him down..”  
“You won’t, he understands. We all do. How about, I play.” Willow said before grabbing the keyboard and placing it on her lap. She sat cross legged mimicking Brydee’s position.  
“Oh no.” She said.  
“Oh yes.” Willow smirked. She started tapping on all the keys, with no talent whatsoever. Brydee thought her ears might start to bleed.  
“Stop stop stop. You know what, give it here. Anything is better than that.” Brydee said.  
“Hey,” Willow feigned hurt.  
“Oh shut it, you know this is exactly what you wanted.” Brydee shook her head.  
“Maybe, go on, just a few keys, I’m here.” Willow assured her. Brydee got a little more confidence behind her at Willow’s words. She played the first few keys of Fur Elise.  
“God that sounds good.” Willow admitted.  
“Sounds good and is fairly easy, it sounds hard though so it's impressive.” Brydee winked.  
Willow laughed. “Can’t be part of the mangrove river family if you don’t know how to cut corners effectively.”  
“Ain’t that the truth, Dean gets to teach surfing for a living.” Brydee chuckled, shaking her head.  
“You and Colby though, both cops.” Willow pointed out.  
“Who would have thought, huh?” Brydee replied.  
“It’s funny, Colby was harder to believe than you, it just sort of made sense. Remember when we played cops and robbers as kids?” Willow asked, she had a huge smile on her face.  
“How could I forget?” Brydee smiled.  
"No one could touch you when you started playing seriously, you were a force to be reckoned with." Willow said in admiration.  
"I'd give anything to have one day where we could go back, we could gang up on Dean and Colby, I could talk with Jai." Brydee said emotionally.  
"Well we can still gang up on Dean and Colby, I'm sure Colby would be down for playing cops and robbers still." Willow joked.  
"You're probably right, how did a klutz like him become an officer?" Brydee laughed at her own question.  
"Determination I suppose, he ran out of leads with the River Boys on Bella's whereabouts so he joined the force to try and find her." Willow explained.  
"Damn, took him long enough." Brydee said.  
"What's worse is Chelsea, his ex wife. Her dad knew of Bella's location for years." Willow said.  
"You're joking? Isn't he in the force himself? Why would he keep that from him?" Brydee asked.  
"He didn't like Colby." Willow shrugged. Brydee scoffed.  
"He'll be getting a call from me like the guy or not withholding information like that is breaking some form of law." Brydee stated.  
"You have to remember he manipulated Bella, when the police came knocking all they saw was a loving father and daughter. They had no idea her mum was buried in the backyard." Willow explained.  
"Still, Colby is one of us. We take care of our own. Even if his story was barking mad we would give him the benefit of the doubt." Brydee explained.  
"I'm not saying don't call this guy and give him a piece of your mind but I'm sure he will have lawyers ready to go, it might not be worth the hassle." Willow said.  
Brydee sighed. "You're probably right, he found Bella in the end. That's all that matters." Brydee agreed.  
“I’m glad we all found each other again. I missed you.” Willow admitted.  
“I missed you too.” Brydee said, her smile faded a little.  
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Willow asked quietly.  
“Dad pointed out earlier that Alex and I were apparently flirting and I didn’t even realize. I know we joked with her that day but the thought just kind of sat uneasy with me, I am so confused on what happened between you two and Alex just seems so… okay? You guys love each other, how can you just not be together?” Brydee blurted out. Willow smiled sadly.  
“Alex and I need time. We aren’t together so you shouldn’t feel guilty, plus most of the time your flirting is harmless.” Willow pointed out.  
“You’re right, I would never intentionally make a move, I hope you know that.” Brydee insisted. Willow felt bad, she knew Alex had feelings for Brydee and it wasn’t her place to tell her this but she wasn’t sure what else to say. Alex had been right, they both needed time. Willow had chosen her family over Alex and it wasn’t okay. Willow decided to tell Brydee just that.  
“I messed up B, I chose Bella over Alex and it hurt the both of us. Alex has a lot going on, it wasn’t just about Bella, but we both agree for now it’s better if we grow separately.” Willow explained.  
“But you still love her right?” Brydee asked.  
“Of course I do.” Willow admitted.  
“You can still fix it.” Brydee said desperately.  
“Brydee.. Hey, look at me. I love her, I do but now just isn’t the time, she has other stuff she needs to sort out.” Willow told her.  
“What other stuff? What could possibly matter enough to come between you two?” Brydee had raised her voice slightly, she was annoyed that her two good friends, people she loved couldn’t work things out. Willow sighed, Alex was right, Brydee would take it badly if she found out about how Alex felt. If Willow was being honest, she had feelings for the woman too but she had gotten used to burying those feelings for her that it made it simpler for the two to be close and just be friends. Willow could imagine how hard it must have been for Alex to realize she had feelings for someone else. Willow didn’t feel betrayed, she understood. But she knew Alex was punishing herself over it, Brydee would punish herself also.  
“I’m not sure it’s either of our business.” Willow said, giving her a sad smile.  
Brydee sighed. “Right, I’m sorry. It just sucks. You two seemed so perfect.” Brydee said.  
“Time heals all wounds.” Willow said, she tried to sound wise which made Brydee laugh.  
"Watch out, they'll start calling you Willow the Wise." Brydee joked.  
"And by they do you mean you?" Willow quipped back.  
"Or I could think of other words with W, let's see. Wonderful. Errr, wow all I could think of was wonderful, guess that's sticking now." Brydee teased.  
"Whore?" Willow offered. Brydee choked on her laughter.  
"Whore?! That is soooo not where I was going with that! Fucking whore, oh my god Willow." Brydee couldn't compose herself, she loved how deadpan Willow could be with her humor, that's why they got along so well as kids, people thought they were insane most of the time but as long as they had each other to laugh at their jokes they didn't care much about how the rest of the world viewed them.  
Willow snickered at Brydee's response. "Can you imagine the looks on peoples faces if you started calling me "Willow the Whore" ? The people in this town would die, oh the scandal. I'd love to see John's face if you straight up walked into the surf club and said that." Willow said, she couldn't stop laughing.  
"As much as I'd love to do that, I have a reputation to uphold and I've heard this John guy is a real piece of work so I'd rather not get in his bad books." Brydee admitted.  
"Oh yeah, I learnt the hard way. He's not all bad but he's one of those guys that if he has it out for you he won't let it go. He was easier on me than he was Dean." Willow explained.  
"And for good reason, Dean is a trouble maker." Brydee stated.  
Willow scoffed. "What, and I'm not?" She asked.  
"Not as much as Dean, no. Plus, I hear you've gotten your act together." Brydee said with a twinkle in her eye.  
"Yeah well so has Dean." Willow defended.  
"He still runs with the River Boys. Until he cuts his ties from a gang, he hasn't got his act together." Brydee said, shrugging. It was the truth, whenever Dean got in hot water he would call the boys for help.  
"I suppose you're right, I wish he would cut ties with them. I thought after Colby nearly died a couple of years ago and the boys refused to help that he would be done with them but your're right. He still goes back to them." Willow admitted. Brydee was smiling at her.  
"What?" Willow asked.  
"Nothing, it's just.. you really have gotten your act together." Brydee said rather proudly.  
"Yes well I'm still a hot head." Willow admitted.  
"Yes, but you're our hot head. I wouldn't have you any other way. Plus, just think of it as you're just more passionate." Brydee said, winking at her.  
"Shut up." Willow said jokingly. Brydee laughed at Willow's embarrassment.  
“Will you stay a while?” Brydee asked quietly.  
“I can be here as long as you need today.” Willow told her.


	45. Chapter 45

Two days had come and gone since Brydee had woken up, she had touched her new keyboard a few times, mainly to make her dad happy. Alex seemed to enjoy watching her play too so she didn’t mind all that much, sometimes it was harder than others though but the people who surrounded her seemed to clue onto this and let it slide when she just didn’t want to play, she was grateful for them.  
“Morning.” Alex said, smiling as she walked into Brydee’s room.  
“Doctor Alex.” Brydee mimicked the doctor's smile, she couldn’t help but feel slightly better when she was around.  
“How are you feeling today?” Alex asked, of course she was on shift.  
“Better, so much so that I think I could walk.” Brydee said, hope lingered in her voice.  
Alex smiled at her attempt. “How about you give me one more day of bed rest and then we get some more scans done tomorrow and hopefully get you cleared to start walking again?” Alex suggested.  
Brydee sighed. “Not like I have much choice.”  
“I’m sorry, how about I try to schedule in the scans for this afternoon? If they are clear we will get more scans done in the morning to double check but it might give you something to look forward to if they come back good.” Alex offered.  
“Sounds productive, I’m all in.” Brydee stated.  
Alex smiled. “Okay I’ll go book you in.” She turned to leave.  
“Thank you, Alex. I know I’m probably a handful..” Brydee trailed off.  
“You haven’t tried to escape your bed, that’s all I could really hope for. You have an active life, I can’t imagine how stir crazy you’re feeling.” Alex said quietly.  
“I’ve never been so excited to just walk before.” Brydee laughed.  
“I bet, who’s coming to visit today?” Alex asked.  
“Is that your way of asking if Willow is going to be here?” Brydee teased.  
Alex’s face went bright red. “No, that’s not what I meant at all. It’s just, you know, lots of family-”  
“Alex, relax. I’m just messing with you. It’s weird hearing that, lots of family. I’ve never really had that.” Brydee said in wonder.  
“Well I hope you like it, they have all been worried sick.” Alex pointed out.  
“Only them?” Brydee asked with a smirk.  
“Ha ha. Yes you had me worried too, I was sort of grouping myself in with them.” Alex admitted.  
“As you should, I care about you too.” Brydee said quite boldly.  
“Do you now?” Alex asked in a teasing tone.  
“I’m pretty sure I would have felt the same panic you did if it were you who had gotten hurt. I know we haven’t known each other long but I feel a connection with you that I can’t explain. When you’re around I feel more relaxed.” Brydee admitted. Alex’s heart started thumping a little faster, she had to tell herself to calm down, Alex was more than aware Brydee meant this in a harmless, innocent way and to be honest, that’s why she cared so deeply for the woman. The way she cared about people was different to anything else she had seen, it was pure innocence which Alex took comfort in, she didn’t understand how Bella could have gotten Brydee so wrong, the woman would never hurt anyone intentionally, especially not emotionally.  
“Did I say something wrong?” Brydee asked.  
“No, sorry. I was just lost in thought. I know how you feel, Willow and I once talked about fate and whether we believed in it and I have to admit, I’m starting to think I do.” Alex revealed.  
“I do. I don’t think it was a coincidence you and Willow found each other, or that I found her again after all these years. I think I was always fated to run into Ryder and help him. Sometimes it’s hard to comprehend, if I’m having a bad day or thinking about Jai it doesn’t make much sense. It’s hard to say “things happen for a reason” Because I don’t understand why my twin was taken from me and the blame game starts happening, I guess I chose to believe in fate when it’s about good things but when things go wrong I throw it out the window.” Brydee admitted intently to Alex.  
“Do you have those moments often?” Alex asked.  
“Why Jai was taken? Sometimes, if I’m talking about fate the thought will cross through the back of my mind. It makes itself known, sometimes I can drown it out and others I can’t. It’s rather exhausting.” Brydee said, smiling sadly.  
Alex nodded slowly. “I wish I had gotten to meet him.” Alex said.  
Brydee chuckled. “I’m not so sure about that, he would have ripped this place apart when he found out I was hurt. Most of the time he was sweet and patient but when it came to me he would get hot headed and rash very quickly, he liked to think he was an over protective big brother.” Brydee admitted.  
“Even more reason, I’m all for over protective big brothers.” Alex said honestly.  
“He is maybe 5 minutes older than me.” Brydee said.  
“Still counts.” Alex said, amusement in her voice.  
“You can’t take his side if he isn’t even here.” Brydee stated.  
“Well someone needs to stick up for him.” Alex joked. Brydee laughed, mid laugh she froze. Alex noticed and quickly started back tracking.  
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”  
“Don’t be sorry Alex, it’s not often I have a conversation about my brother and end up laughing. It was nice, thank you.” Brydee said quietly.  
“There’s definitely no need for thanks.” Alex assured her.  
“Still, it was nice. I think he would have really liked you.” Brydee told the doctor.  
Alex blushed. “If he’s anything like you then I’m pretty sure I’d like him too.”  
“He’s like me except more “dude bro” kinda like Dean and Colby. Although not as tempered as Dean. He was protective of me but also of everyone else, that night.. Colby didn’t have to ask twice, Jai would have gone to hell and back for Colby, for Bella. Even though she was an annoying brat, family is everything. I’ve wondered whether he would have believed Bella did this to me.” Brydee said quietly.  
“Like Willow.” Alex said, nodding.  
“I can see both sides, what sucks more than anything is it feels like Bella won. Which is stupid because she didn’t want you two to break up but that’s exactly what happened and she caused it. I understand why Willow went into denial, it doesn’t excuse the hurt she caused you but I understand.” Brydee told the doctor.  
“I understand too.” Alex replied.  
“I may have prodded Willow for information which she refused to give me but she told me you were going through some stuff and needed to figure that out. Alex I just want you to know I’m always here. I won’t judge you, I can be impartial if necessary, comes with the job.” Brydee explained.  
Alex’s thoughts were racing, Willow had kept her secret which she was grateful for but she didn’t think Brydee would give up. She felt bad for keeping it from her but Alex fully believed it was the only way.  
“Thank you, I know. It’s just something I need to deal with on my own, for now anyway.” Alex said.  
“I get that. If you ever need me though, I’m here.” Brydee assured her. Alex smiled warmly at the woman.

“Knock knock.” It was Roo.  
“Roo!” Brydee said excitedly.  
“I brought some breakfast up, bacon and egg roll. I hope that’s okay, I assume by now Brydee is about ready to throw the liquid diet out the window.” Roo asked Alex.  
“I don’t think one roll will hurt but it’s back to pure liquids after, understood?” Alex asked.  
“Yes ma’am. You’re a lifesaver Roo.” Brydee grinned at the woman.  
“How are you feeling? I’m sorry I wasn’t here much yesterday, things have been kind of hectic at home. The pump at the caravan park looks like it’s about to go and Dad’s worrying we won’t have the money to fix it and- never mind, you don’t need the stress.” Roo said, offering the roll.  
Brydee gladly took it and started digging in.  
“I don’t mind, I’m starved for conversation so please tell me everything.” Brydee told her.  
“And on that note, I’d better go and see my other patients.” Alex said kindly before turning to walk out.  
“I’m still your favourite, right?” Brydee asked, cheekily.  
“Of course.” Alex smiled before leaving.  
“You seem to be in better spirits.” Roo noted.  
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to hopefully being able to walk soon. Bed rest is doing my head in.”  
“Bentley’s present helping any?” Roo asked.  
“A little, it’s hard to play sometimes. I haven’t touched my laptop, I’m not sure I could listen to his violin pieces.” Brydee admitted to the older woman.  
“You never know, you might find it comforting. When I thought mum was gone, holding things of hers made me feel closer to her somehow.” Roo explained.  
Brydee nodded. “I’m just worried, the last time I ended up quite upset.”  
Roo took her hand. “You have people here to lean on, just remember that. When you’re ready, I’m sure your dad would love to hear him.” Roo said.  
“Has he talked about him to you?”  
“A little. Mostly just that he wishes he could meet him, have some attachment to him, you’re all he’s got to connect him to Jai, he knows him through your memories.” Roo told her.  
“I never really thought about it.” Brydee said, sadness in her voice.  
“Don’t feel bad, I’m sure he is glad you got to have all those years with your brother.” Roo assured.  
“Yeah, I wish I could give him my memories, let him experience them. I should have realized how much it must hurt to never have met his son.” Brydee admitted.  
“While it must hurt I’m sure he is grateful to have met his daughter and gotten to know her.” Roo said.  
There was a throat clearing from the doorway.  
“She’s right you know, I count myself lucky I get to have you in my life.” Bentley said.  
“Cops, you’re always sneaking around.” Roo huffed.  
Bentley and Brydee chuckled.  
“My apologies, I didn’t want to interrupt.” He said sheepishly. Roo smiled up at him, Brydee found the interaction odd. They’d clearly bonded over Brydee being hurt.  
“I thought you were in the city discussing the case?” Brydee asked him.  
“Soon, I wanted to come and see you before I headed off. Not sure how long I’ll be but I’ll try to be as quick as I can, you know how court can be.” He stated.  
“Don’t rush, let them know I support this fully.” Brydee told him. He nodded.  
“Well I guess I should be going..” He trailed off.  
“I’d ask you to stay but this is more important.” Brydee pointed out, she wasn’t sure why he was acting so weird. She knew her getting hurt had rattled him but he seemed to want to hang around way more than usual.  
“Right, right, I know.”  
“I’ll walk you out?” Roo offered. His face lit up.  
“I’d like that.” He said quietly. Brydee sat there in silence as she watched them walk out together, she was confused at whatever the hell that was.


	46. Chapter 46

Alex walked in a few minutes later, a small smile on her face. She noticed Brydee didn’t seem very happy.  
“Everything okay?” Alex asked.  
“Dad’s acting weird.” She stated.  
“Oh, weird how?”  
“I don’t know, he just seems… clingy? I know I must have scared him but he needed Roo to walk him out, why? He’s a grown ass man so why does he need her to walk him out? It’s like he was hoping she would.” Brydee stated, annoyance and confusion laced her words. Alex chuckled.  
“What? What’s funny?” Brydee asked.  
“They’ve been spending a lot of time together since you got hurt. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve become dependent on one another. I understand the feeling, I relied heavily on them both when you were in a coma. We had a whole regiment going, you were never once left alone.” Alex explained. She watched Brydee’s face drop.  
“Oh,” Was all Brydee managed to say.  
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. After the siege I got closer to Marilyn, sometimes trauma has that effect.” Alex told her.  
“Right, yeah. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have gotten annoyed.” Brydee apologized.  
“It’s okay, it must be weird waking up and them knowing each other.” Alex assumed.  
Brydee looked up at her. “Yeah it’s very weird, they had never met and now they seem really close.”  
“Kind of like us.” Alex pointed out. Brydee sighed and chuckled.  
“Yeah you make a good point. I guess because I was here for us becoming friends it made sense to me but having missed them getting to know each other it’s all just a little confusing.” She agreed with the doctor.  
“I’m sorry, we should have explained things more thoroughly when you came out of your coma, people don’t realize just how hard it is to come back to reality after losing time. Trust me though, after nearly losing you I fully understand how two people can be connected so closely after such a short amount of time. If you’d like I can ask them to sit down and talk to you about it?” Alex offered.  
“No, I don’t want to make things weird or awkward. I’ll adjust, I always do.” Brydee said.  
“Well if you ever need help, don’t be afraid to ask, okay?” Alex said.  
“Yes, doc.” Brydee teased. Alex shook her head and chucked.  
“Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I booked you in at 2 for scans, I’d ask if that’s okay with you but..” Alex trailed off.  
“I don’t have anywhere else to be.” Brydee confirmed, she shook her head and laughed.  
“That’s what I thought, I’ll be back later to take you up for the scans, if that’s okay?” Alex asked.  
“Well I will need my fave doctor for moral support.” Brydee joked.  
“Good, I’ll see you at 2.” Alex smiled, leaving the room.

Roo had come back shortly after, Brydee noticed the woman seemed to be smiling at nothing, she decided to not bring it up. Instead she thought about what might happen at 2, best case scenario meant she could try walking again tomorrow but the worst case scenario she’s now realizing she should have asked about. She had no idea what would happen if the scans showed something wrong. She couldn’t help the overwhelming amount of thoughts fog her brain, she decided she would try and poke fun at Roo to distract herself, going back on her earlier statement.  
“Dad make it to the car okay?” Brydee asked, amused.  
“What’re you smirking about? Yes, he should be in the city shortly.” Roo answered.  
“How was he, while I was out?” Brydee asked.  
“He stressed quite a lot actually, I think the fact that the two of you had never discussed your relationship was eating away at him. He wanted nothing more than to be a father to you but felt stuck.” Roo replied honestly.  
“I know, I just couldn’t face it back then. As time went on it got easier to pretend, I had lived so long with bare minimum of family to no family that I didn’t know how to take the fact that I did have family left. It scared me.” Brydee admitted.  
“You deserve all the love in the world Brydee, You’re kind and compassionate and I feel grateful to have gotten the chance to know you. I know Bentley is happy you stumbled into your lives too.” Roo admitted.  
“Really?” Brydee asked.  
“Really. He’s a lovely man.” Roo said.  
“Is he now?” Brydee teased.  
“Yes. You already know that.” Roo said sternly.  
“I do, he put my life back together.” Brydee said.

“Are you feeling okay?” Roo asked her.  
“Yeah I’m just nervous. I can’t help worrying about what happens if the results are bad.” Brydee admitted quietly.  
“I can ask Alex if you like?” Roo suggested.  
“No, the last thing I want is to worry her.” Brydee said honestly.  
“She’s a doctor Brydee and right now she’s your doctor. If we need to ask the hard questions we will.” Roo told her.  
“You’re right.” Was all Brydee replied.

2 oclock seemed to roll around slowly, Brydee had become even more on edge than earlier.  
“Alex.” Roo said.  
Brydee looked up to find Alex had walked into the room.  
“We were-” Roo started.  
“I’d like a new doctor.” Brydee stated. Roo looked at Brydee, shock and concern written on her face.  
“No that’s not wh-” Roo tried again.  
“Please. I want a new doctor.” Brydee said softly. Alex felt like someone had grabbed at her insides and twisted, she wasn’t sure why that statement hurt so badly. She was a professional and prided herself on keeping it together on the job but those few words had her near tears. She walked out of the room without saying a word, she closed the door and rounded a corner before collapsing against the wall, gasping for air. Brydee had called out to her as she walked out of the room, Alex’s brain wasn’t in a place of reason, she assumed anything the woman had to say was going to be bad.

“Go after her, Roo.” Brydee ordered the other woman. Who still looked shocked.  
“What the hell was that?” Roo asked.  
“You were right, if we need to ask the hard questions we will. But I won’t put Alex through that, she told me what happened when she found me Roo. It broke her, I know she’s capable of separating emotions from the job but I can’t force her to do that, I won’t. Please go and get her.” Brydee asked. Roo sighed before walking out.  
“Alex?” Roo asked. Alex heard the woman call out to her but she stayed silent, she didn’t want to be found, she felt like a complete mess. She stood back up and continued down the hall.  
“Alex! Stop,” Roo called out. She felt a hand grab her elbow and stop her.  
“I’m sorry, I-”  
“Don’t apologize, it’s okay. Come back inside and give her a chance to explain.” Roo told her.  
“No, I can’t.” Alex started walking off.  
“She’s worried about you, she’s worried about herself. She’s worried that her scans will come back bad and she doesn’t know what that means for her and she didn’t want to put that burden on you to answer. She mentioned how you reacted to finding her, Alex.. She’s just trying to look out for you. She could have gone about it a bit better but you know Brydee, she doesn’t know how to express herself properly.” Roo explained.  
Alex couldn’t help the tears that fell.  
“Hey, come here.” Roo took the woman in her arms and held her.  
“I’m sorry, I don’t know why but it just hurt. I thought I had done something wrong or that she didn’t want me around.” Alex sobbed.  
“Alex..” It was Brydee’s voice, Alex’s head snapped up to look at her. She was standing while holding onto the wall for support.  
“What are you doing?!” Alex asked, she rushed towards her just in time to catch her before she collapsed. Brydee had awkwardly stumbled when Alex had caught her, their faces were now inches apart, both could feel each other’s breath on their faces. Alex’s heart sped up as she watched Brydee look at her, the woman was searching her teary eyes. Brydee wiped a fallen tear from Alex’s cheek before she straightened herself using the wall and Alex to do so. Roo came over and took Brydee’s other side and helped her back to bed. Alex let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.  
“I’m sorry, I needed to make sure you were okay. Of course I want you around Alex, my day would be bland without you. I just didn’t want to hurt you more by putting you through this as a doctor. There’s a reason doctor’s don’t deal with patients they know. I should never have let you take care of me from the start, I was selfish. I’m sorry.” Brydee admitted.  
“Brydee you weren’t selfish. It’s what I do best.” Alex told her.  
“I know, which is why I didn’t say anything but after my seizure you blamed yourself and I don’t want that happening again. I just think it’s better if we get someone else. I want you here, by my side but not as my doctor.” Brydee explained, squeezing Alex’s hand.  
Alex internally scolded herself for reading the situation so wrong.  
“I’m sorry for overreacting, I let my insecurities get the better of me.” Alex admitted.  
“I should have explained and not just blurted it out, I knew it would be hard so I tried to just get it over with.” Brydee explained.  
“Still, I’m-” Alex started.  
“I swear if you say “I’m a Doctor” and try to reason why you should be able to handle it, I will throw this keyboard out the window. Yes Alex you are a Doctor but you’re my friend first, it isn’t fair on you and the emotional turmoil you’ve been through lately. The reason I don’t want you as my doctor is because I see what it’s doing to you and that’s the last thing I want. I want your support but not if it takes its toll on you.” Brydee explained. Alex chuckled at the ridiculous threat. Brydee raised her eyebrows at her, wondering what the doctor was laughing at.  
“I’d like to see you try, you’ve been in hospital for nearly two weeks I imagine you’re much too weak to throw that keyboard.” Alex said confidently. Brydee took note that Alex was deflecting the more serious discussion, Brydee wasn't about to push her to talk about it when she'd just accidentally caused Alex pain. She decided to go along with Alex's deflection.  
“Oh, is that so?” Brydee challenged. She went to get off the bed.  
“Okay, how about we not try pushing ourselves. You want to be able to do physio tomorrow right?” Roo asked. Pushing Brydee back into bed.  
Brydee grumbled. Alex smiled, clearly Brydee didn’t like backing down from a challenge.  
“I’ll call Tori, see if she’s up to a couple more shifts while you’re here.” Alex informed them.  
“Thank you.” Brydee said appreciatively.


	47. Chapter 47

“Tori, Hi.” Alex said through the phone.  
“Alex, is everything alright?” The other doctor asked.  
“Yeah, actually I was wondering if you would be up for a few more shifts this week. Brydee has asked for me to be taken off her case..” Alex explained.  
"Oh, that's odd. Lately you have been hot commodity." Tori chuckled.  
"We have become friends, I probably shouldn't have been looking after her in the first place but with how crazy this place gets it's kind of hard to pick and choose." Alex admitted.  
"You did a fine job with Colby.." Tori trailed off.  
Alex chuckled. "Don't get me wrong I thoroughly like Colby, it's just.. different with Brydee, she's become very important to me. Colby is Willow's friend and that is how our friendship is based, with Brydee, she's Willow's friend but I consider her my friend as well. I'd ask to meet up with Brydee, Colby.. not so much." Alex concluded. She wasn't sure how she felt informing Tori of this. The whole town was already reeling and confused as to why Bella hurt Brydee, the last thing Alex wanted was rumors spreading and Alex just wasn't sure she could fully trust Tori. She was a fine enough doctor and person but people in Summer Bay tended to gossip, she herself was at fault at times too which is why she wouldn't hold it against anyone but it sure did make her hesitant to give out any personal information that she didn't want getting twisted.  
“Ah, right yeah no I get that, it makes total sense, those boys can be a bit full on too so I don't blame you in the slightest. I’m sure Justin won’t mind looking after Grace a bit more if it’s temporary, how are you?” Tori asked. Alex wasn’t prepared for the woman to ask, she was caught off guard.  
“Oh, I’m fine.” Alex lied.  
“Yes cause that’s the voice of someone who is totally fine.” Tori teased.  
“At first I was hurt by Brydee’s request but she explained and it started making more sense, it has been taking its toll on me.” Alex admitted.  
“I can imagine. Put me on as much as you need.” Tori told her.  
“Would you be able to come in today?” Alex asked.  
“Let me call Marilyn, if she’s free I’ll call you back.” Tori replied.  
“Okay thanks Tori.” Alex said sincerely.

About 5 minutes later Alex’s phone started buzzing.  
“Hello?” Alex answered.  
“Alex, it's Tori. Marilyn can look after Grace.” Tori stated.  
“Great, come in whenever you have the chance.” Alex told her.  
"I'll hopefully be there within an hour or two." Tori said.  
"Thank you Tori." Alex said as she hung up. Sighing, she was grateful Tori could cover for her but that didn't stop the dull ache in her heart at the thought of not having the excuse to check in on Brydee everyday. She was still trying to gather her emotions from earlier and she tried to reassure herself with Brydee's words, Brydee wanted her there as a friend, she could do that. Alex stood up and straightened her blazer, she took in a deep breath before heading back to Brydee's room.

“I honestly can’t wait to go for a surf.” Alex heard Brydee say before entering the room. Brydee looked up at her and smiled.  
“Alex.” Brydee greeted.  
“I’ve just gotten off the phone with Tori, she’s agreed to take over. She’ll be in when she can, unfortunately that means that I need to take you up for your scans or I could have the nurses take you up if you would prefer?.” Alex asked.  
“Nurses will be fine.” Brydee concluded.  
“Thank you Alex.” Roo said gratefully.  
“Does this mean you’ll be off the clock?” Brydee asked.  
“Not today, maybe tomorrow if they can get the roster sorted. I’m asking a lot for Tori to come back full time, even if it’s only for a couple of days.” Alex explained.  
“Well then I guess I’m just going to have to recover extra quickly.” Brydee said smugly.  
“If only.” Alex responded.  
“Is Jas on?” Brydee asked.  
“She is, would you like me to assign her to you?” Alex asked.  
“Please, I could do with a familiar face.” Brydee said honestly.  
“Of course, I’ll either see you to give you your results or I’ll come in once my shift is over.” Alex informed her. Brydee smiled warmly at her.  
"I'd like that." Brydee said. Alex turned to leave the room with a small smile on her face, she kicked herself for reacting so badly earlier. Of course Brydee was always going to want her around, she knew Brydee, she knew how much she cared, Alex was disappointed in herself for thinking anything less of her.  
"Hey." Brydee called out to her, Alex turned around.  
"Hm?" Alex replied.  
"Alex I know you, stop tormenting yourself. We all have moments, you've been through a traumatic.. not only couple of weeks with me but traumatic couple of months. It's okay to not be okay." Brydee smiled pointedly at her, Alex couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. She was right of course, Alex needed to stop beating herself up over her own emotions. She was only human.

Jasmine came in a couple of minutes later.  
“Right, so I hear we are going for a trip upstairs for some scans.” Jasmine noted.  
“Yep, Doc wants to check my brain is all good before I start walking again.” Brydee explained.  
“Better to be safe than sorry.” Jasmine pointed out.  
“Anything that’ll get me a step closer to getting out of this bed.” Brydee agreed.  
“Would you like to come with us or wait here?” Jasmine asked Roo. Roo looked at Brydee.  
“I’ll be fine.” Brydee assured her.  
“Okay, I’ll wait here.” Roo replied.  
“Alright up we go.” Jasmine said, smiling. Jasmine wheeled her bed out into the elevator.  
“Hi, Brydee Devin she is scheduled in at 2 for a head CT.” Jasmine told the Doctor manning the machine.  
“Ah yes, I think every time I’ve seen you you’ve been unconscious. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He smiled at her. She returned the smile.  
“Okay so we are just going to help you up and onto this right here and we’ll get you to lie down.” He said, Jasmine and the doctor placed her on the bed part of the machine.  
“Now the machine will take you in and it will spin around you multiple times, just keep as still as possible. You can close your eyes or leave them open, it doesn’t matter just whichever you prefer.” He told her. Brydee nodded.  
“Not very talkative this one.” He joked to Jasmine.  
“In my experience you usually can’t get her to shut up.” She teased.  
“I’m nervous. I want the scans to be okay and I’m worried they won’t be.” Brydee admitted.  
“Don’t worry, even if the scans aren’t good we will come up with a plan to make sure they will be eventually, you’re in good hands.” He assured her.  
The scans were over and done with fairly quickly, she was back in her room before she knew it.  
“How’d it go?” Roo asked.  
“No complaints.” Jasmine joked. Brydee smiled.  
“It was fine, now we just have to wait for the results.” Brydee said.  
“Which will be back in an hour or two, I’ll let Alex know you’re back.” Jasmine said cheerfully.


	48. Chapter 48

“Did dad say when he would be back?” Brydee asked Roo. Roo sighed.  
“He text before, he thinks he might have to stay in the city overnight.” Roo informed.  
“I’m guessing it’s not going well.” Brydee summarized.  
“She did belt you over the head with a rock, Brydee. You should have seen the turn out when you first got brought in, there are a lot of officers who care about you.” Roo said.  
“Well I’ll have to explain to everyone why I want this. Can you pass me my laptop, I’ll send an email.” Brydee stated.  
“Oh no, an email.” Roo teased.  
“Shush. Bella needs psychological help, I shouldn’t have to fight for this. It’s clear if you look through her file. People would rather lock the mentally ill up and throw away the key.” Brydee said sourly.  
“People like Bella are lucky to have someone like you in the force.” Brydee’s head whipped up, she hadn’t heard Alex come in.  
“Alex is right.” Roo agreed.  
“I’m just doing what’s right.” Brydee shrugged.  
“While that may be true, you’re right. Most people would have her rot in jail. She’s lucky she’s still under 18.” Alex said matter of factly.  
“Is it weird that I wonder how she’s doing? Actually I’m worried how Colby is handling things. It must be eating at him.” Brydee speculated.  
“It’s not weird to wonder how your friends are doing.” Roo clarified.  
“Not sure you could call Bella a friend..” Alex trailed off. Brydee chuckled.  
“Alex has a point. She needs help but if I saw her… I’m not sure what I’d do. I do miss Colby though.” Brydee admitted.  
“I’ll call him if you like?” Roo asked.  
“Thanks, maybe now's not the time. I don’t want him to feel pressured.” Brydee said quietly.  
“I’m going to grab some lunch, I came in to see if either of you needed anything? Tori got here a couple of minutes ago so she will now officially be your doctor until you are discharged.” Alex said.  
“Ah, discharged. I never thought I’d long to hear that word.” Brydee chuckled. Roo and Alex joined her.  
“I could go a sandwich.” Roo suggested.  
“And you?” Alex asked Brydee.  
“Anything that will make this fluid diet bearable.” Brydee pleaded.  
“Okay I’ll be back.” Alex chuckled before heading off. As Alex rounded the corner she pulled out her phone. She brought up her message thread with Colby, she let him know Brydee was wondering how he was doing and that she missed him but she didn’t want to put him in an awkward spot by calling. Alex smiled down at her phone, at least now the ball was in Colby’s court. She was positive the man would want to see his childhood friend. She continued to the cafeteria to grab lunch for everyone.

“Chicken was all they had, hope you don’t mind?” Alex asked of Roo and Brydee. Brydee noticed Alex had gotten a sandwich for her.  
“Um no chicken is the best. Thank you.” Brydee said eagerly.  
“Yeah note to self, don’t get in between Brydee and chicken. You should have seen her demolish the roast chicken we had when mum and dad got back, she’d take your hand off.” Roo teased.  
“Oi, watch it woman.” Brydee joked.  
“Oh, you going to woman me are you?” Roo jibed.  
“Would you rather, wench?” Brydee said wench like she was in some video game in the 1800's. The re enactment made both Roo and Alex laugh.  
“Only if you want to go out the window.” Roo snickered.  
“Alright, woman it is.” Brydee said, Roo swatted at her arm. Alex chuckled at them, she enjoyed watching Brydee feel at home with Roo, she deserved to have someone nurturing in her life.  
“Do you think there’s people out there who would want to be called wench?” Brydee wondered out loud.  
“What?” Roo scoffed. Alex had a feeling she knew what Brydee meant but didn’t want to voice it just in case she was wrong.  
“You know like a kink or something.” Brydee clarified.  
“Seems everyone's got a thing for something right?” Alex pointed out, she had been right about what Brydee had meant.  
“I’ll be honest I’d rather call someone wench than daddy, oh ew gross I even hate saying it normally.” Brydee cringed. Alex laughed at the woman's discomfort.  
“Don’t make me start calling you wench, Alex.” Brydee threw at her.  
“But what if I prefer-” Alex started saying  
“DON’T YOU-” Brydee yelled, she threw her body forward on top of Alex who had taken place at the end of her bed. Brydee held Alex down. “I will never in a million years, god, don’t make me cringe please.” Brydee smiled down at her. Alex was laughing along with Brydee, she watched as Brydee’s smile grew wider.  
“Ahem.” Roo cleared her throat. Alex flinched, forgetting the older woman was even in the room. Brydee who had found the whole interaction harmless, looked up at Roo slowly.  
“Yes?” Brydee questioned.  
“Oh, would you like me to leave?” Roo teased. Alex watched Brydee’s forehead crease and then realization dawned on her. She slowly looked back down at Alex, guilt written on her face.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”  
“Brydee please, it’s okay. Roo is just being a-” Alex stopped mid sentence on purpose.  
“Not going to finish that are you?” Roo said, side eyeing Alex. Brydee chuckled.  
“Just because you’ve got sex on the brain doesn’t mean everyone else does Roo.” Brydee blurted out. Roo choked on her drink, Alex stared open mouth at Brydee.  
“I… Do not.” Roo managed to croak out.  
“Oh really? So you haven’t been giving hints to my dad?” Brydee scrutinized.  
“No! I..” Roo spluttered.  
“Mhm.” Brydee crossed her arms.  
“We weren’t talking about me. We were talking about the tension between you two, you could cut it with a knife.” Roo stated.  
“What? No, what?” Brydee asked, confused. Alex had gone silent, she felt stuck. Roo noticed Alex’s demeanor change and realized she messed up.  
“I’m kidding, relax.” Roo tried to defuse. Alex looked over at Roo, Roo mouthed “sorry” to her.  
Brydee was lost in thought, she realized there had been more moments between them lately, she felt horrible.  
“Roo can you give us a minute please.” Brydee said more than asked her.  
“Sure.” Roo said sadly. She got up and left the room.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to- with anything lately. I haven’t been meaning to flirt it’s just happened and I’m so sorry, I’m such a shitty friend. I’ll explain to Willow don’t worry.” Brydee told Alex.  
“Brydee, Willow and I aren’t together right now. You don’t need to explain yourself to anyone and to be honest with you I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you.” Alex admitted.  
“I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you too, I just feel bad. I don’t mean any ill intent I hope you know that. I just enjoy the banter and it comes so easily with you.” Brydee said quietly.  
“Hey, I get that and Willow also gets that. I’m sure she doesn’t complain when the flirty banter is directed at her.” Alex pointed out with a smile. Brydee realized she had a good point. Brydee chuckled.  
“Yeah you got me there, I am sorry though. Life is so much more complicated when all everyone thinks about is who is having sex with who. It had never even crossed my mind.” Brydee said honestly. Alex knew without a doubt Brydee was being honest, she admired that about the woman. She was so innocently oblivious.  
“Can I ask you something, it’s personal but I don’t think you’d mind answering, if that helps?” Alex chuckled.  
“Ask away.” Brydee said.  
“Have you ever had anyone assume you were into them because of your personality?” Alex asked.  
“Do you mean did I ever accidentally get myself into trouble without realizing?” Brydee asked back. Alex smiled, embarrassed.  
“Yes, that’s men for you. Never with women though and well it did happen one time, she apologized profusely for mistaking my intentions though. Men can be jerks about that sort of thing. I once dated a guy for like a week and he got annoyed at me because I wasn’t ready to be with him.. Like that.” Brydee admitted.  
“Unlucky for him, I don’t understand how some people don’t see the good they have right in front of them.” Alex said absentmindedly. Brydee blushed at the unintentional compliment. She was pulled from her thoughts by a light tapping on the door, Tori walked in.  
“Afternoon.” She greeted them. Roo walked in behind.  
“Am I allowed to come back in?” Roo teased.  
“Sit down.” Brydee said, shaking her head with a chuckle.  
“I have your test results. Everything is looking good, you’re cleared to start physiotherapy again.” Tori said happily. Brydee breathed a sigh of relief.  
“Thank god for that, I’m starting to go stir crazy.” Brydee huffed.  
“We need to take it slow though, I don’t want you pushing yourself. I consulted with Alex before she took herself off your case and we agreed that after your session tomorrow we do more scans just to make sure nothing starts up once you get on your feet, sound good?” Tori asked.  
“If it means I can be up on my feet I’m all for it.” Brydee told her.  
“Okay good, the physio will be in around 8am tomorrow.” Tori informed.  
“Is there any way we could get her in today?” Brydee asked, hopeful. Tori shared a look with Alex, they both knew how impossible that would be.  
“She was hard enough to book in for tomorrow.” Alex admitted quietly.  
“And I get the feeling Alex may have pulled a few strings to get her to come in tomorrow so I’d be thankful for that.” Tori smirked.  
“Did you?” Brydee asked Alex.  
“Well, yeah.. But in my defense your case is a high priority, which I kindly reminded her of.” Alex said innocently.  
“Wow, impressive Doctor Alex. I’m sure it didn’t sound threatening at all.” Brydee teased.  
Tori laughed. “It’s the truth though, your people can start pushing and causing problems, trust me. None of us want that so I’m sure the physio was more than happy to make time for you.” Tori explained.  
“Yeah well tell me that tomorrow when she makes me do burpees as punishment.” Brydee joked. Alex laughed.  
“Woah hey now, she isn’t evil like Willow.” Alex said jokingly.  
“I’ll tell her you said that.” Brydee said.  
“Oh by all means go ahead, she is well aware of how I feel about her training.” Alex said honestly, humor still in her voice. Brydee was glad to see that Alex and Willow weren’t lying, they both seemed genuinely okay. She felt as though she had missed something but didn’t want to keep asking questions.


	49. Chapter 49

The sun had started to go down at the hospital, Brydee felt the similar gnawing she had been feeling since being in the hospital bed, she hated being alone. She had spent most of her adult life alone but now the thought seemed terrifying. She sighed.  
“Everything okay?” Roo asked. Alex was shuffling the deck of cards she had grabbed, the hospital always had things like that lying around and Brydee was bored out of her mind so Alex decided it was the best method for distraction.  
“Yeah.” Was all Brydee said. Roo gave Alex a look, they were both aware her mood had just plummeted.  
Alex chuckled. “Try to sound more convincing.” She teased.  
“It’s nothing, I’m just being stupid.” Brydee huffed.  
“We aren’t going to judge you, Brydee.” Roo assured. Alex took the woman's hand and gave it a squeeze.  
“It’s just, ever since I have been in hospital I’ve felt lonely and being alone.. I don’t know. I have always loved being alone but now it just sort of scares me and I know it’s stupid-”  
“It’s not stupid.” Roo cut in.  
“Yes it is, I’m not a child. I should be able to not freak out every time I’m left alone.” Brydee admitted.  
“Brydee, it really isn’t stupid. Child or adult doesn’t matter, you went through a traumatic experience and are trapped here unable to even get out of bed. Of course you are scared to be alone.” Alex explained.  
“I’m not scared of Bella.” Brydee said.  
“Maybe not but I think the experience has rocked you. From what I’ve heard from all the officers I’ve met as of late you are incredibly good at what you do and it spooked everyone when you got hurt. They all admire you and for you to have been attacked and end up in a coma really shocked everyone. You’re human, while you might not be afraid of Bella I imagine you are afraid of the prospect of death.” Roo summarized.  
“I hadn’t really thought about it. I just know that when it comes for everyone to leave I just hate it.” Brydee admitted.  
“You don’t like questioning why.” Alex concluded.  
“I don’t like to give much thought to it, no. I just figure I’ve become needy during my stay here.” Brydee tried to joke.  
“Well as someone who feels that same feeling every time I have to leave you here, Roo has a good point. Seeing you hurt and on the brink of death made me realize just how afraid I was to lose you and it’s made it incredibly hard to distance myself. Which is part of the reason why I had a meltdown when..” Alex sighed, she didn’t want to bring that up again.  
“You really feel that way? I guess when you put it like that I can see what you mean. I just feel useless and small that I’m so afraid to be alone.” Brydee said.  
“I do and I understand how you feel. Trust me, I find every reason possible to stay and then later realize how silly I was being. I should have just told you I was struggling.” Alex admitted.  
“Well at least we both know now.” Brydee offered as a comfort.  
“Neither of you should feel afraid to ask for comfort. It’s been a traumatizing few weeks.” Roo said.  
“I usually love night time but now I don’t look forward to it at all.” Brydee admitted.  
“That’s why you sighed.” Roo stated.  
“Yeah, you two will leave soon. I don’t want to make you feel bad which is also why I kept those feelings to myself. I can’t ask you to not leave, you need to live your lives.” Brydee said quietly.  
“Well until you’re out of here Tori is covering my shifts so I really don’t have anywhere else to be.” Alex said, giving a small reassuring smile.  
“We could also go back to what we did when she was in a coma.” Roo said to Alex. Alex nodded.  
“Uh, and what was that exactly? I wasn’t here for that, remember?” Brydee jested.  
“We took turns to be by your bedside.” Roo pointed out.  
“Oh right I do remember hearing you mention that.” Brydee said. Alex noted the woman didn’t argue or try to deny them of that plan.  
“So come night time we take it in turns on staying with her until she falls asleep?” Alex asked Roo.  
“Sounds like a good plan to me, how about you?” Roo asked Brydee. Brydee smiled shyly.  
“I’d like that.” She said honestly.  
“I can stay tonight if you like Roo.” Alex offered.  
“If you could, I need to get my stuff ready for school. I’ve taken off way too much time lately. You don’t mind do you? I’ll visit before and after school.” Roo suggested.  
“Roo it’s okay you don’t have to feel pressured to visit me. Hopefully I’ll be out of here soon anyway.” Brydee said hopefully.  
“Yeah and I’m sure we can fill the gap, your dad should be back right?” Alex asked.  
“He’s been held up in the city so maybe not until tomorrow or later.” Brydee sighed.  
“Well I could take-” Roo started.  
“No, seriously I’ll be fine without you. There’s plenty of people I can annoy you know. Ryder for example, he is due to visit soon.” Brydee tried to lighten Roo’s doubt.  
“And I’m pretty sure Mac is eager to see you.” Alex pointed out.  
“See, plenty.” Brydee assured Roo.  
“Alright well try and get some sleep, big day tomorrow.” Roo said tentatively.  
“Yes ma’am.” Brydee saluted her. Roo rolled her eyes before leaving the two of them.

“So, how are you really feeling?” Alex asked.  
“Assume I’m lying Doctor Alex?” Brydee questioned, sarcasm laced her voice.  
“I know you try and protect Roo.” Alex said truthfully.  
“I’m okay Alex. It feels good to have lifted that weight, yeah it sucks feeling so useless but it’s comforting, knowing I’m not alone in those feelings.” Brydee admitted. Alex had to keep reminding herself Brydee was talking of the feelings about being afraid to leave Brydee alone. The harmless feelings.  
“I’m glad you can take comfort of me being scared of losing you.” Alex mocked.  
“What can I say? I’m pretty amazing.” Brydee teased.  
“You are.” Alex agreed. Brydee made a bunch of sounds with her mouth that Alex assumed was her brain catching up with the fact that Alex had agreed with her. She smiled, she had gotten the exact reaction she had hoped for.  
“You’re not supposed to agree with me Alex.” Brydee finally managed to say.  
“I know but it was so worth the reaction. It’s also not a lie, I think you’re great.” Alex admitted.  
“Okay stop being all cute and stuff, I’m the worst.” Brydee said confidently. This is what Alex had expected earlier form Brydee, for her to deflect with humor and self deprecation when Roo and Alex planned to help. Alex wondered why the woman had given in to them so easily, she decided to just ask her.  
“Why didn’t you do this earlier? I expected you to put up a fight when we suggested sticking by your side.”  
Brydee chuckled. “Because I had already admitted how I was feeling so I felt like I was already as embarrassed as I could be so there was no point denying the help that I needed.” Brydee explained, she shrugged.  
“I’m glad you opened up.” Alex said quietly.  
“As am I, I’m lucky to have you here Alex. I know that it’s been hard for you so it’s been benefiting you also but it still means a lot to have you here.” Brydee admitted.  
“I feel the same, when you mentioned not wanting me as your doctor I just assumed that meant I wouldn’t get to see you.” Alex admitted.  
“Never, I enjoy your company way too much.” Brydee said, smiling brightly at her. It made Alex’s heart melt a little.  
“Knock knock.” Alex turned towards the voice, it was Colby.  
“Colby! We were… how did you know?” Brydee laughed.  
“Know what?” He asked. Brydee shook her head.  
“Nothing I was just talking about you earlier, it’s good to see you.” Brydee said honestly.  
“Yeah, you two. I’ve missed you, I just didn’t know if it was okay to visit.” Colby admitted.  
“Of course it is Colby, you’re my family.” She assured him.  
“Yeah well my other family was..” He trailed off, Brydee and Alex could hear the defeat in his voice, he was exhausted.  
“I might go home and freshen up, text me later if you need me to come back?” Alex asked.  
“I will, thanks Alex.” Brydee said meaningfully, she was almost positive Alex had contacted Colby. Alex saw the recognition in her eyes, she smiled shyly before leaving.  
“You wouldn’t have showed up if you had any doubt about me wanting you here.” Brydee pointed out.  
“Don’t make me rat Alex out.” Colby joked.  
Brydee chuckled. “I knew it, she’s always trying to cheer me up. She has a good heart.” Brydee noted.  
“She does, yeah. How are you doing?” Colby asked.  
“Better than I was, scans cleared me to do physio tomorrow so things are looking up.” Brydee said.  
“That’s good, It’s been... “ Colby sighed.  
“I know. She’s your little sister, I would feel the same if it were Jai. She needs help Colby, she gloated about you killing Ross, how you’d cover up her mess, assuming she meant her hurting me. It’s bad. I plan to do as much as I can to get her help but I’m going to need you behind us on it, if we can get all parties in agreeance it will look way better. Dad’s in the city currently trying to make things happen. Ross got to her big time in those years he had her.” Brydee told him.  
“Help, you’re getting her help? Really?” Colby asked, he sounded excited, hopeful even.  
“Of course. I wouldn’t let them throw her away, you know that.” Brydee said.  
Colby sighed. “I should have known that, with everything going on I guess I just assumed the worst was going to happen.” He admitted.  
“I get that, don’t feel bad. Hopefully in ten years we look back on this and laugh about it. With Bella next to us feeling guilty and then we make fun of her, it’ll work out. You’ll see.” Brydee said.  
“Why do you continue to give us second chances?” Colby asked quietly.  
“Because none of this is yours or Bella’s fault. I told you, I blame Ross. For Jai, for Bella. It’s always been Ross.” Brydee stated. Colby nodded.  
“I see your point.” Colby said sadly.  
“But you still blame yourself. At times I do too but I know you Colby, you have a kind and gentle heart. You’d never intend harm on anyone.” Brydee soothed.  
“I should have been more careful, gotten her more help. I just can’t believe she would do that to someone. I’m so sorry.” Colby tried to contain his tears.  
“It’s okay, come here.” Brydee ushered for him to hug her. She felt rather than heard his tears.


	50. Chapter 50

Brydee awoke to the sound of pen scribbling on paper, she hadn’t realized just how exhausted she had been, Colby had left just before 9 and soon after she fell asleep. She scolded herself mentally for not texting Alex to let her know she didn’t need to come back. She groggily looked around the room, Tori was standing at her bed-end. She let out a breath of relief.  
“Morning, everything alright?” Tori asked.  
“Yeah, I just fell asleep without realizing. I was supposed to text Alex-”  
“She called around 10 last night to check in, I let her know you were asleep.” Tori replied.  
“Thanks.” Brydee said gratefully.  
“No problem. The physio will be in soon, is there anyone you’d like me to call or would you rather be by yourself?” Tori asked.  
“I get the feeling everyone might hover and annoy the physio.” Brydee admitted.  
“Your words.” Tori joked in agreeance.  
“Tori..” Brydee said quietly. Tori looked back up from her clipboard.  
“Yes?”  
“What happens if I have another seizure?” Brydee asked.  
“Your scans came back really good, don’t worry yourself over it.” Tori said. It didn’t calm Brydee’s nerves at all. The doctor left the room and Brydee found herself doing the one thing she told herself she wouldn’t do. She called Alex.  
“Good morning.” Alex sounded chirpy.  
“Is it?” Brydee laughed.  
“What? A woman can’t sound happy about the day ahead of her?” Alex asked.  
“Well I guess you don’t have to try and walk again..” Brydee sounded worried, Alex quickly realized Brydee wasn’t doing too well.  
“I was going to grab brekky at salt, would you like me to take out and bring you something?” Alex asked. She knew today would be hard for Brydee and she also knew the woman didn’t want her being a doctor to her so she had decided to wait until after the physio appointment to visit her but the sound of Brydee’s voice set off alarms in Alex’s head.  
“You don’t have to.. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have called.” Brydee panicked.  
“You can always call me, you know that. What’s going on? You sound anxious.” Alex asked.  
“I’m just worried, what if I have another seizure Alex? I don’t know what will happen..” Brydee trailed off, Alex’s heart sank at the sound of despair in her voice.  
“I looked over the scans, they really did come back good. Last time, if we had done scans before your session the scans would have come back incredibly bad. I know it’s hard to put your faith in other people but I wouldn’t lie to you Brydee and I sure as hell wouldn’t risk you trying to walk again if it meant you getting hurt. But, let’s say beyond the great odds you have today, let’s say you do have a seizure, we go in for more testing, we run bloods and head CT’s again and we try and find and diagnose the underlying problem, we find the right medication to suit you and then we go from there and try and get you walking again. If the worst happens we have multiple options Brydee, I know it must seem hopeless being stuck in bed but it won’t always be like this. Even if it takes tiny baby steps, we’ll get you walking again.” Alex promised. Alex heard Brydee let out a breath the woman had clearly been holding.  
“Thank you, I asked Tori and.. She didn’t really help calm my nerves much. I told myself I wouldn’t put pressure on you but I panicked when Tori gave me nothing, I’m sorry Alex.” Brydee said honestly.  
“Don’t ever be sorry about asking for my help. What did Tori say exactly?” Alex asked.  
“She said similar to what you did at the start there, that the scans were good and I needn’t worry.” Brydee admitted.  
“I’m guessing it felt more like a dismissal more than anything.” Alex speculated.  
“The whole reason I didn’t want you as my doctor is because I didn’t want you to have to answer the hard questions. But apparently you’re-” Brydee stopped herself. She took a deep breath and pinched her nose. It would do no good insulting Tori. Alex chuckled.  
“Doctor’s approach things differently and it’s probably because of how close we are that I know you need answers instead of brushing it off. Some people don’t want the facts and that would be Tori’s default.” Alex explained.  
“I appreciate you explaining things Alex. I was moments away from a full blown panic attack.” Brydee chuckled.  
“Would you like me to bring you a coffee?” Alex asked. Brydee sighed.  
“Physio will be here soon and I wanted to be alone for that..” Brydee trailed off, she didn’t want to offend Alex but she wasn’t sure how not to.  
“I understand, text me after and I can bring brunch, how does broth sound?.” Alex asked, sounding chirpy again. It made Brydee smile.  
“Sure thing Doctor Alex, you know how much I love this fluid diet.” Brydee teased.  
“Keep that tone up and I’ll assume I made you feel better.” Alex responded cheekily. Brydee smiled.  
“Hey, hey Alex.” Brydee giggled.  
“Do I even want to answer you?” Alex was curious what Brydee was playing at.  
“I gave up on eating an apple a day because I didn’t want to keep you away.” Brydee said through her giggles. Alex accidentally laughed.  
“No. No. You are so-” Alex laughed, shaking her head.  
“Amazing, adorable, funny.. All of the above?” Brydee offered.  
“Add annoyingly in front of those and yes, yes you are.” Alex said through her laughter.  
“Wow, I’ll take it. You’re welcome.” Brydee said.  
“For what exactly?” Alex asked skeptically.  
“For knowing me.” Brydee said without skipping a beat. Alex was enjoying herself despite her saying the opposite.  
“You know what, I am lucky to know you. Thank you so very much for collapsing into my life.” Alex teased.  
“Oh you’re going there huh? That so isn’t fair. I should never have tried to do that.” Brydee mumbled.  
“Do what?” Alex asked, she was curious.  
“Ah, I tried to get Jade into bed. Well, that wasn’t the plan I always intended on bailing but I went a bit overboard and actually caused myself to faint, my bad.” Brydee admitted.  
“To help Ryder, yes?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah, Jade is so not my type.” Brydee stated.  
“What is your type?” Alex wasn’t sure why she asked.  
“Generally just a good human being which Jade was not. I don’t do one night stands though.” Brydee explained.  
“Never?” Alex asked.  
“No, never. Lance is the only person I’ve ever been with.” Brydee said without thinking. She found it incredibly easy to open up to Alex.  
“I don’t either. I’m very much a commitment type of girl.” Alex said.  
“Noted.” Brydee said, Alex could hear the smile in her voice. She hadn’t meant anything by it which Alex was painfully aware of yet it made Alex’s heart flutter slightly. She heard chatter coming through.  
“Is that the physio?” She asked.  
“Yeah, I should go..” Alex swore she heard disappointment in the woman’s voice.  
“I’ll be up later, text me when you’re done okay?” Alex decided to reassure her.  
“Okay, cool I will.” Brydee responded rather animatedly. Alex smiled at the obvious excitement in her voice.  
“Okay, Good luck, I know you’ll do great.” Alex admitted.  
“Thanks Alex, goodbye.” Brydee barely whispered.  
“Bye Brydee.” Alex said softly, hanging up the phone. She wasn’t sure if the woman had whispered because of the people in the room or whether or not they shared a tender moment, Alex shook her head. She needed to stop seeing things that weren’t there.

Brydee sat looking at her phone while Tori and the physio talked, she had been taken aback by Alex’s words. They were only words of encouragement but they had touched Brydee, she was barely able to say goodbye without bursting into tears. Alex was always so kind and supportive, Brydee knew how lucky she was to have someone like that in her life. She decided when she could she would make it up to Alex, the Doctor really had gone above and beyond for her. She wondered how she could make it up to her while being stuck in a hospital bed. She sighed, she hated being stuck in bed.  
“So, can we get started?” She asked.  
“Yes, I just need one more sheet of paperwork filled out and then she’s all yours.” Tori said to the physio. It was a different woman this time.  
“Carla Jeffers.” She greeted.  
“Brydee Devin.” She nodded.  
“Alright that’s me all done, if you need a hand just yell out.” Tori said before taking off.  
“I know you must be eager to get onto your feet again but I was hoping to have a little chat before we do that?” Carla asked.  
“Sure.” Brydee said wearily.  
“I’ve read over your file, obviously everyone is nervous to get you back on your feet after last time. How are you feeling?” She asked.  
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious about it. Having a seizure isn’t fun but I am also keen to be able to get out of bed.” Brydee answered.  
“Okay good, I’m glad you’re being honest. We really need open communication, if you feel any change whatsoever you need to let me know. Don’t be afraid to look weak in front of me, okay?” Carla asked.  
“Don’t worry, I’ve already made that mistake once. I’d rather not revisit.” Brydee admitted.  
“Alright, why don’t you take my hands and we get you up off the bed.” Carla suggested.

Brydee really liked Carla, she was thankful Alex had gotten her in. They had been slowly moving around her room, Carla didn’t want her out in the halls yet. She wanted to build up her muscles again but be close to her bed in case she needed a break, which she did, a lot.  
She huffed out in frustration.  
“You okay?” Carla asked, putting her hands on Brydee’s back in case she needed stabilizing.  
“Yeah, I just didn’t expect to be this exhausted.” Brydee admitted.  
“If it makes you feel any better you’re doing incredibly well given your condition. Let’s sit down for a minute.” Carla advised.  
“It’s not even been 10 minutes.” Brydee said.  
“And most of my patients after being bed ridden for 2 weeks straight can barely get on their feet for 2 minutes. I wasn’t trying to boost your ego, you really are doing well. Now stop complaining, you should be proud. Each day we will build up to more, soon enough you’ll be able to walk around your room without my help but for now I need you to only get up if I’m here or another nurse or Doctor gives you the all clear, okay?” Carla asked.  
“Yeah of course.”  
“Let’s get up again and walk around the bed.” Carla ordered.  
“Yes ma’am.” Brydee mocked.  
“You might be some hot shot fed but right now I could blow on you and you’d fall over so don’t give me any cheek.” Carla said, Brydee could hear a touch of humor in her voice.  
“Could we go into the halls?”  
“Not today, I don’t want to take any chances okay? You’ll have more scans after I’m done here. Hopefully if they come back positive we can push you a little more tomorrow, sound good?” Carla asked.  
“Yeah, I look forward to it. Pushing comes natural to you, doesn’t it.” Brydee teased.  
“Thinking I should join the force? Boss people around?” Carla played.  
“As much as I’d like to give a witty joke back, have you ever considered it? I assume you’ve come across your fair share of officers over the years.” Brydee pointed out.  
“I have and I’m not sure I’m built for it. I get to see the patients who live… I’m not sure I could handle..” Carla trailed off.  
“I understand. I need to sit again, sorry.” Brydee said through her teeth, she’d become exhausted.  
“Don’t apologize, you’ve done well. Here’s some water, I hope you don’t mind me sticking around for a bit. I’ll let Tori know we are finished so she can book you in for scans but I’d like to just make sure you continue to be okay.” Carla offered.  
“Well it’s not like I’ve got anywhere else I need to be.” Brydee joked, Carla smiled at her before going to find Tori.


	51. Chapter 51

“Al!” Alex turned to the sound of her nickname being called, she knew it was Willow before she saw the woman.  
“Hey,” Alex smiled.  
“How’s things?” Willow asked.  
“Brydee is having her first physio appointment today, she was quite nervous.” Alex said.  
“I meant with you, Brydee will be fine. She’s one of the strongest people I know.” Willow smiled.  
“I wish she knew that.” Alex said quietly.  
“Maybe I should go and see her today.” Willow said.  
“She’d like that, the hospital can be a lonely place when you can’t leave.” Alex admitted.  
“I know that feeling. So, how are you doing?” Willow asked more specifically this time.  
“Besides having a meltdown when Brydee asked for me to be removed as one of her doctors?” Alex chuckled.  
“Knowing Brydee there was more to it.” Willow concluded.  
“She didn’t want to put pressure on me.” Alex explained.  
“Or maybe it’s because Doctor’s aren’t supposed to date their patients.” Willow said, she winked at Alex. Alex become flustered.  
“I..well..no, I don’t even think she-”  
“Alex, relax I was just messing with you.” Willow said.  
“Oh..right.” Alex looked at the ground.  
“You know she totally does though, right?” Willow asked.  
“She what?”   
“Likes you, she probably doesn’t realize it herself to be honest. Brydee’s like that, she doesn’t really look at people and think “yes, you’re desirable” cause let’s be real if she did she would have been all over the both of us.” Willow stated quite boldly. Alex stared at her, mouth wide open.  
“I have noticed that. It’s kind of-” Alex stopped herself.  
“Cute. Yeah I know.” Willow finished.  
“I’m sorry, I’m an idiot.” Alex apologized.  
“You aren’t. It’s okay, like I said I get it. Brydee’s always been amazing, I’m kicking myself for pushing myself to date Dean. Brydee was such a better option. I just didn’t realize myself, Colby told me the story of how Lance and Brydee got together and oh boy, you really need to spell it out for her.” Willow laughed.  
“I often wish I could view the world through her eyes.” Alex admitted.  
“It would be a ride for sure. So, do you still plan on keeping your feelings from her?” Willow asked.  
“Isn’t this weird for you? It’s weird for me.. We love each other but-”  
“But I hurt you, big time and I hurt myself in the process. Alex, I know one day things will work themselves out. To be honest, Brydee needs you right now more than I do. I know you love me, I know that doesn’t just go away. I just hope one day we can figure it out, if there was anyone else in the world who I’d want to hold onto your heart, It’s Brydee.” Willow admitted. Alex got a bit choked up, she didn’t know what to say.  
“I’m worried all this is going to do is hurt more people.” Alex said softly.  
“Having more love in the world is a good thing, Al.” Willow reassured her. Alex’s phone went off. She checked, it was Brydee.  
“Speak of the devil?” Willow asked.  
“Yeah, she’s done with physio and I told her I’d bring her brunch.” Alex said.  
“Can you let her know I’ll visit her after my shift?” Willow asked.  
“Yeah I will.” Alex smiled. She headed upstairs.

“Alex, good to see you.” Mac greeted her.  
“Hey Mac." Alex smiled.  
"What'll it be, burger and chips?" Mac asked, knowing the doctor usually either got burgers or fish and chips with Willow.  
"Actually I’m taking brunch to Brydee and I should be a responsible doctor and make sure she sticks to fluids but I'm sure a smoothie would be okay” Alex said.  
“Going above and beyond I see, I'll whip her up something.” Mac stated.  
“Sure, actually make it two, I'd rather not make life harder on her by eating a nice burger in front of her.” Alex joked.  
“Will do, it shouldn’t be too long.” Mac said while giving the order to her kitchen.  
“Thanks.” Alex said.  
“So, how is Brydee doing? I bet she’s losing it being stuck there.” Mac remarked.  
“She’s not too bad given the circumstance but yeah she’s keen to get out, she had a physio session this morning.” Alex explained.  
“Keep me posted and Alex if you ever need anything just let me know, I’m more than happy to help. Even if it’s just a free meal.” Mac smiled at her.   
“You and Brydee are close?” Alex wondered aloud.  
“I’d say not as close as you two are but she’s easily become someone I care about. I plan on taking her out on the town when she’s better. She’s just easy to get along with.” Mac said. Alex nodded in agreeance.  
“She really is.”

Alex made her way towards the hospital, she was about 20 meters from the entrance when she felt dejavu wash over her and was reminded of the first time she met Brydee. Two complete strangers opening up about their trauma together, Alex smiled. Ever since that day she had found walking into the hospital a breeze but she had never taken a moment to appreciate that she was capable of doing that now without a second thought, so she took in a deep breath and just enjoyed the moment. Thankful to have had the young officer walk into her life.  
When Alex made her way towards Brydee’s room she saw a woman come out of it, Alex assumed this was Carla.  
“Carla Jeffers?” Alex asked. The woman looked up, she smiled.  
“The one and only, have we met?” She asked.  
“We’ve talked on the phone, Doctor Neilson, Alex.” She announced herself.  
“Oh, of course, pleasure to meet you. I thought you were-”  
“I am, she’s a friend of mine.” Alex cleared the confusion.  
“Ah, I’m guessing you want an update though?” Carla gave her a knowing smile.  
“If you wouldn’t mind, you can ask Brydee for permission if it makes you feel bet-” Alex started rambling.  
“Doctor Neilson please, you’re a trusted and highly praised doctor here, it’s very obvious at the amount of testing you’re having Brydee go through that you care about her, there’s no need to panic.” Carla assured.  
“Sorry, I do care you’re right. I’m just worried.” Alex admitted.  
“I understand, the session went well. She pushed herself a little but when she got too exhausted she took breaks, she’s definitely still worried about having another seizure so I took it extra slow. I’ll be back tomorrow, hopefully these scans will come back positive and we can go a little harder. She should be proud of herself but I think she’s a little down at how much effort it took out of her to move even the slightest.” Carla informed.  
“Right, thank you for letting me know.” Alex said.   
“No problem.” Carla responded. Alex made her way to Brydee’s room. She knocked lightly on the door, there was no response so Alex quietly opened the door. She found Brydee fast asleep, Alex couldn’t help but appreciate just how cute the woman looked. She took a seat and decided against waking her, she could always get her something later from the kitchen. Brydee apparently didn’t like that idea, as Alex sat down she watched her eyes flutter open. She smiled lazily at Alex.  
“Hi.” Brydee said softly.  
“Hi, Sorry for waking you. I was trying not to.” Alex apologized.  
“S’okay, how was your morning?” Brydee asked groggily, she yawned and closed her eyes again. Alex smiled, she wondered whether or not she should answer.  
“Just resting my eyes.” Brydee continued softly.  
“My morning was good, I ran into Willow who wanted me to let you know she would visit after her shift and it’s always nice to see Mac. It’s honestly been nice to not be so flat at out work.” Alex chuckled softly.  
“Doctor’s have the most demanding job, you should try and take more time for yourself.” Brydee mumbled.  
“I would but I’m afraid with the amount of drama and such that happens in this sleepy little town you would all suffer.” Alex said, she was joking but she had a point.  
“Mmm, Doctor Alex, saver of lives.” Brydee said, Alex noticed she seemed to be falling back to sleep. Alex smiled at the memory of the last time she talked to sleepy Brydee.  
“You better not fall asleep, don’t want you to start whining on me again.” Alex teased.  
“Won’t whine, promise.” Brydee mumbled, she was definitely about to doze off.  
“Get some rest, I’ll be here when you wake.” Alex promised.  
Brydee made multiple sounds that Alex assumed was her agreeing but she couldn’t be quite sure.  
“G’night Alex.” She whispered. Alex felt compelled to get up and brush the woman’s hair back, she was out like a light. She traced the back of her fingers down Brydee’s cheek, a soft smile on her lips.  
“Goodnight Brydee.” She whispered back, smiling at the clock that read 11am. Brydee sighed peacefully.


	52. Chapter 52

Brydee woke a couple of hours later, she stretched out and saw Alex in the chair asleep. Brydee reached her hand out to poke the sleeping doctor. Alex opened her eyes, alert.  
“Woah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Brydee whispered. She watched Alex’s eyes visibly relax.  
“Don’t be, even if I fall asleep at the hospital it’s usually in a bed. My body wasn’t prepared to be woken up in a chair.” Alex explained.  
“You looked peaceful.” Brydee whispered.  
“And you just had to wake me.” Alex teased.  
Brydee chuckled. “You know me so well.”  
“Lucky me.” Alex continued to tease.  
“Did I hear right before, Willow is going to visit?” Brydee asked. Alex scrambled to look at her watch, 4pm.  
“Wow we slept huh. She said she’d be up after her shift, shouldn’t be too long from now.” Alex replied.  
“Sleeping is one of the most entertaining things to do in this place, plus, I needed it.” Brydee said honestly.  
“Speaking of, how did your session go?” Alex asked, she knew how it went from Carla’s prospective but she wondered just how hard it had been on Brydee.  
“Harder than I anticipated. I guess I just thought my body would obey my brain and just do what I think I can but I couldn’t. Carla didn’t even want me leaving the room. But she did say tomorrow we will do more if my scans are good so there’s that.” Brydee said.  
“Have you had the scans?” Alex wondered aloud.  
“Yeah, when Carla was here. She wanted to stay with me and make sure I was doing alright after, I think she thought I might keel over at one point.” Brydee sighed.  
“It’s her job and she was being thorough, colour me impressed.” Alex said.  
“Thank you, for getting her. She was really good and I felt safe.” Brydee admitted. It touched Alex’s heart to hear Brydee admit that.  
“You’re more than welcome.” Alex said quietly.  
“Alex, if you could have one thing and money or scheduling wasn’t an issue, what would you want?” Brydee asked.  
“That was random.” Alex noted.  
“Humor me?”  
“You really want to know? What if it’s really lame?” Alex asked.  
“Yes, I won’t judge you.” Brydee assured.  
“Honestly, I’d just like to go somewhere nice and have dinner cooked for me. Maybe somewhere that has a local artist playing soft music, you know the type right?” Alex sighed.  
“You could have anything and you’d want dinner and slow songs?” Brydee asked.  
“You said you wouldn’t judge.” Alex pointed out.  
“And I’m not, just fascinated. Willow would have said jetski or something.” Brydee said, laughing.  
“I mean sure that too, who wouldn’t want to try jetskiing just once? I guess just peacefulness is what I’d like.” Alex said, she gasped.  
“What?” Brydee asked.  
“I changed my mind.” Alex said.  
“Oh, decided on the jetski?”  
“No, I’d like for you to play me a song.” Alex said, there was excitement in her eyes. Brydee sighed.  
“You’re not going to let go of that, are you?” Brydee asked pointedly.  
“Nope. Now tell me, what would you want?” Alex turned her question around on her.  
“Right now? To be out of this bed.” Brydee joked.  
Alex laughed. “Good point.”  
“I’d really like to go up the coast, take a 4wd and camp under the stars on the beach. Everyone sitting around a campfire and having a few bevs.” Brydee said, sighing in contentment at the thought.  
“Who is everyone in this scenario?” Alex questioned.  
“You, Willow, Ryder, Colby, Mac, Jas, maybe even Dean.. Ziggy seems like a hoot.” Brydee listed off.  
“A campfire does sound nice, although I’m not usually a big camper.” Alex admitted.  
“Neither am I but nowadays you can get 4wd’s that have massive camper trailers on them and you have pretty much everything with you. I wouldn’t want to go bush camping, but a night out on the beach is nice. Some of the best nights were spent doing that.” Brydee noted, thinking back on memories.  
“Care to share?” Alex asked.  
“Mangrove River wasn’t the greatest place for it but it was all we knew at the time, we didn’t have the full 4wd set up, just ourselves but it was fun. Dean would always say something stupid and Willow would always end up sleeping between Jai and myself.” Brydee chuckled to herself.  
“Yeah I can definitely see that.” Alex grinned.  
“Jai loved the beach.” Brydee said more so to herself.  
“And you?” Alex asked.  
“Ah, yeah I suppose. Up until recently I’d just admired the view, now I’ve gotten out into the surf a bit more I’m starting to remember why I liked it but it just isn’t the same without Jai. He was a couple of minutes older than me but he was my big brother and I followed him around like a lost puppy, I surfed because he loved surfing.” Brydee admitted.  
“That’s kind of adorable, was he nice enough to let you catch some waves?” Alex questioned.  
Brydee scoffed. “Yeah sure, adorable. He always made sure I got to have fun. I never felt like I was a burden around him, no matter what we did he always went out of his way to include me.” Brydee smiled.  
“Good, good.” Alex nodded, there was clearly more she wanted to say but had held her tongue.  
“Alexandra Neilson, were you about to threaten my dead brother?” Brydee speculated.  
Alex’s mouth went wide as well as her eyes.  
“I… may.. have been about to make a remark but I realized it was in poor taste.” Alex concluded.  
“You were going to say good, otherwise you’d have to beat him up.” Brydee guessed. Alex’s mouth was still hanging open, she had tilted her head after Brydee’s guess.  
“Yes, yes I was.. How did you-?” Alex asked bewildered. Brydee giggled. Alex was completely baffled by the situation in front of her, Brydee was giggling as they were discussing her brother.  
“You strike me as the protective type, come on, don’t tell me you never told Willow you’d beat someone up for her.” Brydee said with a massive smirk.  
“She told you.” Alex guessed.  
“Ha! No. Wow, smooth Alex. We all need an Alex knight in shining armour in our lives.” Brydee sighed dramatically.  
“As much as I fantasized about saving the princess as a child, I prefer being A doctor, I’m way better with my hands.” Alex said nonchalantly. She realized what she had said and her eyes bulged, she found Brydee biting her lip, obviously holding back the retort she wanted to say.  
“Don’t even think about it.” Alex playfully threatened.  
“I wouldn’t dare. Wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of those.. Skillful hands.” Brydee snickered.  
“Alright, you asked for it.” Alex got up and made her way over to Brydee.  
“Please, Alex. I was trained to handle torture, you can’t hurt me.” Brydee goaded.  
“Oh Brydee, how naive of you. My hands are skillful at pleasure, not pain.” Alex whispered, her words were dripping with sensuality. Brydee hadn’t expected the Doctor’s words to have such an impact on her, her legs slammed shut as an automatic response to the arousal that shot through her. The motion did not go unnoticed by Alex, who smirked. Brydee gulped, she had no idea what was happening, her brain was running a million miles a minute. She wasn’t sure if she wanted Alex to touch her or whether she wanted to run. Her brain confused by her body’s response. Alex placed her fingers gently on Brydee’s stomach, she dragged them slowly up the woman’s torso. Alex could feel Brydee’s pulse, it was erratic. She looked into those beautiful forest green eyes, she saw arousal and anxiety in them, Alex was determined to go through with what she wanted to do but she almost faltered at just how scared Brydee seemed, it hurt Alex to see her like that, she knew it would be worth it in a moment though.  
“Regret what you said yet?” Alex asked quietly yet authoritatively.  
“No.” Brydee breathed out. Alex watched the shock of Brydee’s own admission dawn on her face. Alex had no idea what any of this meant, she would unpack it all later if the thought didn’t hurt her. She inhaled slowly, she was about to make her move. Alex leaned in next to Brydee’s ear. “Wrong answer Brydee.” Alex whispered. Alex was almost positive she heard the younger woman whimper, she tried not to dwell on it. Now wasn’t the time. She smirked.  
Brydee had meant to say yes, yes was the answer that would have made Alex stop, yet she heard the word no leave her lips. She felt Alex lean in next to her and whisper that she had said the wrong answer, Brydee’s mouth had gone dry. The next thing she knew Alex was cackling, actually cackling and the next moment she felt her fingers flurry onto her skin. She understood very quickly why Alex was cackling, the Doctor was tickling her. Brydee yelped at the contact.  
“Alex! Hahah Alex! I’m going to end you!” Brydee yelled out between her laughs.  
“Oh I really don’t think you will.” Alex whispered into her neck, Brydee hadn’t realized just how close they were. Alex moved into Brydee’s line of sight, a moment passed between them, Brydee was struggling to keep up with what was happening, her brain and body had betrayed her today. She felt guilt instantly. Alex saw the guilt in her eyes.  
“I should go-” Alex said. Brydee moved to stop her, Alex applied pressure to her abdomen to keep her on the bed. Alex sighed.  
“Alex I don’t want you to go, I’m sorry. I was being an idiot.” Brydee said truthfully.  
“You weren’t being an idiot Brydee, It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Um, Willow will be here soon anyway and I’m sure you’d like to catch up with her without me here.” Alex said. Brydee could hear the hurt in her voice. Brydee finally understood why she felt guilt. Willow.  
“Alex please, I didn’t mean to.. You should stay.. Willow will want to see you too and I just-” Brydee’s breathing had become wheezy, Alex didn’t even have time to register what was happening before Brydee clutched at her chest. She was having a panic attack.  
“Hey, look at me. Brydee, you’re okay just breathe, deep breaths for me. You’re okay, we just need to slow your breathing down.” Alex held the womans face in her hands, Brydee had started crying.  
“I’m-” Brydee took a sharp intake of breath. It sounded painful.  
“Shh, don’t talk just focus on me okay, breathe.” Alex started breathing deeply to guide Brydee, she wiped the tears that were staining Brydee’s cheek. Alex heard rustling behind her.  
“Alex? What’s-” It was Willow. Alex felt Brydee’s fingers tighten around her arms as she had gone to turn towards Willow.  
“Panic attack.” Was all Alex managed to get out.  
“Willow.” Brydee cried out for her.  
“Hey, I’m here.” Willow said, she maneuvered over the bed to take Brydee into her arms. She held onto her. Alex’s heart broke, she hadn’t meant for this to happen. She felt tears roll down her face. She stood up and watched Willow try and mend the damage she had caused. Alex turned to walk out.  
“Don’t go, Alex. Please.” Brydee’s voice sounded so small. Every fiber in Alex’s being was telling her to leave, her consciousness was telling her that’s what she was good at, leaving, why stop now. Brydee’s shaky breathing that was filling the room kept Alex rooted to the spot, she caused that pain, she should at least stick around to help fix it. That’s what Alex was telling herself, she knew deep down there was more to why Alex stayed. She took a deep breath before turning around and joining both of them on the bed, she let Brydee rest her head in the crook of Alex’s neck. Brydee slipped out of Willow’s hold and draped her arms around the doctor, her hot breath now on Alex’s neck. Alex felt her body react, she sighed. She squeezed Brydee back to let her know she was there for her but she begged for her to let go, she wasn’t sure she could handle having Brydee all over her. Willow tugged at Brydee, she collapsed back into Willow’s waiting arms. Willow seemed to understand, Alex assumed she had caught on to something happening just before she walked in, she was probably very confused. Willow gave her a sympathetic smile as she stroked Brydee’s hair.  
“Miss Devin?” A doctor called, walking into her room. All three women jumped, startled by the man. Alex straightened herself.  
“Doctor Stafford.” Alex greeted. She had gone into doctor mode, she had to, her walls were crumbling around her, it was her last line of defence.  
“Doctor Neilson. I have Brydee’s scans.” He held up her file.  
“Is it bad?” Brydee asked.  
“No, your results are good. There isn’t any sign of damage, your physio will be glad, she’s going to go hard on you tomorrow.” He chuckled.  
“Well that’s something. Thank you.” Brydee said as politely as she could muster.  
“No need to thank me, you did all the hard work. I’ll leave you to it.” He said before turning and walking out. Brydee felt Alex squeeze her hand.  
“This is really good news.” Alex told her. She squeezed back, Brydee didn’t have words in her.  
“Alex and I might go grab a coffee and a bite to eat, I’m starving. Might do you some good to rest?” Willow offered. Brydee nodded.  
“Sorry.” She whispered to Willow.  
“Don’t apologize. Just get some rest okay.” Willow told her. Brydee nodded before lying down.


	53. Chapter 53

“Before you ask, no. Nothing happened.” Alex informed Willow.  
“I wasn’t going to ask, when we were kids she would sometimes just get so sad and anxious that she struggled to talk. I don’t know how to explain it, I just know she needs to be quiet and alone but I didn’t think she’d want me to say that in front of you.” Willow explained.  
“Should we leave her alone? Will she be alright?” Alex asked, slightly panicked.  
“Alex relax. She’ll be okay, sometimes she just needs time and to reset her brain. Whatever happened must have thrown her for six and she just needs to mentally recuperate.” Willow said. Alex sighed.  
“You can talk to me.” Willow said softly.  
“I think something dawned on her which sent her into a panic.” Alex criptically said.  
“So she realized you have feelings for her?” Willow asked.  
“No and we shouldn’t be talking about this. She already blames herself for us breaking up, if she finds out I have feelings for her she will definitely blame herself and I don’t want to know the state that will put her in. I can’t keep hurting her.” Alex admitted.  
“You aren’t hurting her Alex. And yeah, maybe she will react badly.. But I think she deserves the chance to know. Clearly your feelings aren’t one sided.” Willow stated.  
“You don’t know that.” Alex said, defeated.  
“Why else would she have a panic attack?” Willow asked.  
“It wasn’t feelings, Will.” Alex gave her a knowing look.  
“Oh, ohhh, what the heck were you doing in there before I came in?” Willow questioned.  
“I was teasing her and ended up tickling her, it doesn’t matter what, something happened, something she knows I saw and I think once the moment was over her brain started jumping to what it meant and more specifically who it was going to hurt.” Alex explained, looking at Willow.  
“You mean me.” Willow assumed. Alex nodded sadly. “Maybe I should talk to her, let her know it’s okay.” Willow offered. Alex shrugged.  
“I’m not ready to tell her and I know she won’t accept that. She wants us to be together, I fear telling her might drive her away and I don’t want that.” Alex said honestly.  
“Alright back to square one.” Willow huffed.  
“On the other hand, she’s vastly improving every day. Her physical health is improving.” Alex stated.  
“Yeah, let’s focus on that.” Willow said.  
“Agreed.” Alex saw a flash of black and yellow out of the corner of her eye. It reminded her of Brydee’s hufflepuff pj’s. She smiled at the thought. She was such a nerd.  
“Come back.” Both women whipped their heads to the sound of the voice. There stood Brydee in her bright pyjamas, calling out to them. She held the wall for support, Alex and Willow rushed towards her.  
“Are you out of your mind?” Willow asked.  
“Sorry, I got lonely.” Brydee admitted. Willow and Alex held Brydee up under her arms, supporting her weight.  
“You could have called us.” Willow said sternly.  
“I’m fine, the physio said I can walk more.” Brydee exaggerated.  
“No she didn’t, she’s confident you’ll be able to be up and about soon but she didn’t give the all clear.” Alex said, she had thrown her walls up and gone into doctor mode.  
“I just didn’t want to be alone.” Brydee said softly. Alex saw Willow’s face soften at the admission. They helped her back into bed.  
“Okay so we won’t leave. But no more of that, you can’t just get up and walk without telling someone.” Willow stated. Brydee looked ashamed.  
“Sorry.” She apologized quietly. She turned over in the bed facing away from them both. Alex and Willow shared a look of concern.  
“We’re just worried about you Brydee.” Alex said tentatively. She touched the woman’s arm.  
“I know, I keep messing up. I’m sorry.” Brydee said, clearly crying.  
“Hey, you aren’t messing up. Scoot, Alex get around the other side.” Willow told her as Willow moved Brydee over slightly to lay next to her.  
“What?” Alex asked. Willow surely wasn’t serious.  
“I think we all need a good cuddle, right B?” Willow asked the woman who merely nodded in response.  
“You severely overestimate the hospital beds if you think all three of us will fit.” Alex said in disbelief.  
“Not if we cuddle.” Willow said, squeezing in next to Brydee. Alex had walked around to where Brydee was facing, Brydee refused to look at Alex but Alex could see her teary eyes. She sighed.  
“Fine.” Alex huffed. She hopped in next to Brydee, she wasn’t sure how to place her body but she hadn’t needed to worry, Brydee had thrown her arm around Alex’s torso and brought her closer to her, she rested her tear stained cheek over Alex’s heart. Brydee snuggled in closer and Willow followed suit, they were all bunched in so close that Alex was able to play with Willow’s hair as they lay there. A comforting silence fell over them.  
“Remember that day at Salt, when Robbo covered my shift?” Willow asked.  
“I remember it from start to finish, vividly. Why do you ask?” Alex asked with a hint of humor, was Willow about to discuss their first time in front of Brydee?  
“We talked in Salt about how we felt like we were right where we needed to be. This moment feels very similar.” Willow finished the sentence quietly. Alex smiled at the memory.  
“Willow Harris, are you getting sappy on us?” Brydee chuckled. Willow poked her which made her giggled. “Am I wrong?” Brydee continued.  
“No. Maybe I am a sap, so what if I enjoy this. It’s been too long, remember when we used to cuddle on the beach under the stars? Jai always snickered at us because I would prefer you to hold me over him.” Willow reminisced.  
“I always was a better cuddler.” Brydee said proudly.  
“And yet Alex is getting all the attention.” Willow teased. Alex felt Brydee squeeze her a little, it felt like a reassurance. Brydee turned around and enveloped Willow in her arms, well, she more put her arms over Willow’s head and crushed the woman’s head into her chest. Which made them both giggle.  
“You’re going to suffocate me!” Willow joked.  
“Smothering you with love.” Brydee said, laughing at Willow’s attempts to break the hold.  
“Alex help me.” Willow begged. Alex was still propped up on the head of the bed slightly, her body shivered at the cold air that touched where Brydee’s body had been.  
“Don’t make me tickle you again.” Alex threatened. Brydee laughed but let Willow go. Brydee laid her back onto Alex’s side and looked up and backwards at the Doctor, the motion caused Alex to laugh, Brydee grinned at her.  
“Tickling should be illegal.” Brydee stated, still looking at Alex upside down. Alex felt the need to boop her nose so she did.  
“Oi, I demand cuddles.” Willow stated. Brydee and Alex chuckled.  
“Yes ma’am.” Brydee said, sliding back down off of Alex’s body. She proceeded to wrap her arm over Willow’s torso and like she had previously with Alex, she lent her head over Willow’s heart. All 3 women in the room were starting to become aware that this seemed to be Brydee’s go to cuddle.  
“Does this make me the big spoon?” Willow asked.  
“No.” Both Alex and Brydee said. They grinned at the double answer.  
“I’m holding onto you, therefore you are the small spoon. You were the big spoon earlier.” Brydee explained.  
“So Alex was the small spoon earlier when you were cuddling her?” Willow asked, she had a smirk on her face that Alex knew was trouble.  
“I’m not sure it works like that, Brydee is clearly getting the comfort that a small spoon would get.” Alex pointed out.  
“Alright so I’m a chaotic spoon.” Brydee stated. Both Willow and Alex burst into laughter due to bewilderment.  
“What?” Willow asked  
“Excuse me?” Alex said at the same time.  
“Yeah you know, those charts on Tumblr that have chaotic neutral and lawful?” Brydee asked. Both women shook their heads, they had no idea.  
“Oh my god, Willow I can understand but Alex, come on. You’re a lesbian why are you not all over Lesbian Tumblr?! It’s the best. So they usually have it up against something else like evil, Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil or Chaotic Evil and there’s personality traits and other things in each category. It’s a whole thing and I was making a joke about it, chaotic spoon.” Brydee said again hoping to get some recognition.  
“No? Tough crowd. Let me get my laptop.” Brydee reached over Alex to where her laptop sat. She opened it up and went straight to tumblr. Alex and Willow exchanged concerned looks.  
“Alright, aha! This sounds perfect! Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic. Top, Vers, Bottom.” Brydee giggled mischievously. Willow realized before Alex did what was going on, she slammed Brydee’s laptop shut.  
“Oi!” Brydee exclaimed.  
“What was that for?” Alex asked, amused.  
“Oh you have no idea do you?” Willow asked. Brydee snickered.  
“No, do I want to know.” Alex questioned.  
“Top, vers, bottom. Alex.” Willow said pointedly. Alex’s eyes bulged.  
“Brydee Devin!” Alex remarked.  
“Whaaat? I was just curious and neither of you knew what I meant.” Brydee defended.  
“Yes well now we know.” Alex clarified.  
“Sooo, we aren’t going to figure out who is which?” Brydee asked innocently.  
“No!” Willow and Alex said back.  
“Alright Alright, I could have sworn Willow was chaotic but apparently not.” Brydee remarked. It made Willow falter, she was about to argue back when Alex shot her a look.  
“It doesn’t matter.” Alex said.  
“Anyone would assume you were an ashamed bottom, Alex.” Brydee teased. Willow snickered.  
“I’ll have you know-” Alex started.  
“Alex she’s playing you, don’t fall for it.” Willow said.  
“No fair. One question and I promise I’ll stop.” Brydee asked.  
“Fine, one.” Willow said.  
“Do you wear chokers to let everyone know you’re a bottom or do you just wear them for fashion?” Brydee asked. She watched both women’s mouths drop.  
“I- What?” Willow stammered.  
“Oh come on, you’d have to know people view chokers sexually.” Brydee explained.  
“No, I.. I just like wearing them.” Willow answered.  
“Okay so you’re not a chaotic bottom?” Brydee speculated.  
“Your one is up.” Alex noted. Brydee grumbled.  
“One more?” She asked hopeful.  
“Absolutely not.” Alex said.  
“You’re just scared I’ll come for you next.” Brydee teased.  
“Maybe, but it’s more fun for me if you don’t find out.” Alex said playfully.  
“Oh alright, Lawful Top.” Brydee poked sarcastically.  
“You can say whatever you like, I’m not going to bite.” Alex replied.  
“Unfortunate.” Willow and Brydee said together, they looked at each other and grinned.  
“You two will be the death of me.” Alex said, shaking her head.  
“Not a bad way to go though.” Willow teased.  
“What’s not?” Brydee asked. Alex held her breath, she couldn’t believe Willow was about to suggest that.  
“Don’t you worry your pretty little mind.” Willow said innocently. Alex let out her breath, thankful Willow hadn’t continued. The last thing anyone needed was to think about threesomes.  
“Aw, you think I’m pretty.” Brydee joked.  
“Well you are.” Alex pointed out.  
“Haha no I'm not.” Brydee said dismissively. She was clearly uncomfortable with the notion that someone found her attractive.  
“You don’t agree?” Willow asked curiously.  
“No, of course not.” Brydee laughed.  
“Brydee is worse than me when it comes to compliments.” Alex told Willow.  
“Well that’s a stretch.” Willow said.  
“She’s probably right, I don’t like compliments.” Brydee shrugged.  
“Whyy, you’re so cute.” Willow teased. Brydee grabbed the covers and threw them over her face.  
“I’m not coming out until you stop with that.” Brydee argued.  
“I thought you were already out and proud.” Willow poked. Brydee sighed from beneath the covers.  
“Don’t worry, we support you fully. You’re in a safe space.” Alex piped up.  
“Not you too.” Brydee groaned. It made Alex chuckle.  
“You’re stuck with us now, bet you wish you hadn’t gotten out of bed to come and get us now huh.” Alex smirked. She heard Brydee mock her under the covers.  
“At least have the decency to mock her to her face.” Willow joked. Brydee threw the covers off her face and smiled brightly up at Alex, she feigned innocence.  
“I would never mock you.” Brydee lied. Alex looked at Willow.  
“Does she usually get away with this?” Alex asked.  
“You mean acting all cute and innocent until I budge?” Willow replied.  
“Yes.”  
“All the time. For someone who doesn’t think she’s cute nor likes to be complimented she sure knows how to use her looks.” Willow explained.  
“Wow, I so do not. I assume I look like an idiot and it makes you laugh and softens you up.” Brydee stated.  
“It’s very much more of a “melts my heart” kind of play.” Alex teased.  
Brydee snickered. “Look out Brydee Devin, Sergeant of the Australian Federal Police, here comes Brydee Devin, Melter of hearts.” Brydee jested.  
“You mock but it’s true.” Willow said.  
“You’re a softy.” Alex teased.  
“I’m sure I could find multiple prisoners who would argue that.” Brydee stated.  
“Yes well criminals would, wouldn’t they.” Alex replied.  
“Remember when I broke Dean’s nose because he angered me, still think I’m a softy?” Brydee asked. She had gone from joking to serious real fast. She wasn’t sure why she was trying to prove she was a bad person. Alex and Willow shared a look.  
“If so that proves my point even more. You were hurting.” Alex said sternly.  
“Aren’t Doctors supposed to be against violence?” Brydee questioned.  
“I don’t condone violence but I understand where that knee jerk reaction came from. He pushed you and didn’t see how much his words were hurting you.” Alex explained.  
Brydee sighed. “Sorry, I’m just exhausted and self pitying.” Brydee explained.  
“I don’t blame you, you’ll just have to get used to the idea that Willow and I think you’re kind of amazing, so..” Alex trailed off. Brydee smiled shyly at her.  
“And if you don’t I’ll have to beat you up.” Willow teased.  
“Ha, yeah good luck with that, Harris.” Brydee mocked.  
“I’m a personal trainer now, I’ve got moves.” Willow said proudly. Alex laughed accidentally. Brydee and Willow turned to face her.  
“Something funny?” Willow asked.  
“No it’s just, oh come on.. Brydee is a trained officer.” Alex defended.  
“Wow.” Willow said, she kept mouthing the word wow at Alex which caused Brydee to laugh hysterically.  
“As the smartest person in the room, one should always assume Alex is correct.” Brydee shrugged.  
“Oh, so does that apply to when I say you’re amazing? Because a second ago-” Alex teased.  
“Alright you won, I’m amazing.” Brydee joked, putting her hands in the air to surrender.  
“And don’t you forget it.” Willow and Alex said in unison, they smiled proudly at one another.


	54. Chapter 54

It had been two days since the first visit from the physio, Carla had commented on just how well Brydee was recovering. Due to this, Brydee had spent the last hour annoying the nurses by having them help her to the bathroom, Carla had given her the all clear to move around with assistance for the rest of the day, she was hoping by tomorrow's session she would be confident enough to allow her to move around without the nurses hovering, but assistance to move around meant the catheters could finally come out, she was relieved and had taken every moment she could to use her small yet welcomed freedom.  
“Anyone would think you had the bladder of an 80 year old.” Jasmine mocked her.  
“Come to me once you’ve been in a coma and kept on a liquid diet for two weeks, let me tell you I’ve never been so excited in my life to see a toilet.” Brydee said rather animatedly.  
“Hold on, didn’t Alex bring you food the other day and Martha-” Jasmine speculated.  
“Yes well I’ve always enjoyed my food. Leave me be, I kept to their stupid liquid diet as much as possible. It’s not my fault they were afraid I would have another seizure again, plus Alex said I could have small amounts of normal food and it wouldn’t affect the oh so pleasant catheter no one wants to talk about.” Brydee made a disgusted face. She couldn’t wait for her freedom, being strapped to bags had probably been the worst part of it all but she hadn’t liked bringing it up because it isn’t the most pleasant conversation starter. Jas was different, she’d seen literally everything, Brydee would ask after Jasmine a lot more than the other nurses, she just felt safer and more comfortable when bags needed changing.  
“Yeah it’s not the most pleasant topic is it? But it’s human nature and there’s not much choice in the matter when you’re in a coma and need looking after.” Jasmine said.  
“Thanks, by the way. For all your help, you could have given me so much shit but you didn’t.” Brydee said. Jasmine looked at her and smiled cheekily.  
“Interesting choice of words.” Jasmine noted. Brydee laughed.  
“Seriously there’s no one else in the world I would rather have looking after me. Also you get me, it’s nice. That one with the hair, you know the one it’s like all big and stuff, she’s mean and I didn’t like her.” Brydee admitted. Jasmine chuckled.  
“Don’t worry, most people don’t. She isn’t the most gentle person. Baffles me why she’s a nurse to be honest.” Jasmine said.  
“You on the other hand, saint. I’ll know who to call if I get stuck in a compromising situation.” Brydee joked.  
“Plan on getting into one of those any time soon?” Jas teased back.  
Brydee chuckled. “God no. But definitely jot down in my file that I request you to look after me if a teenager decided to beat my skull in again.”  
“I’ll make sure I’m readily available. I should get an honour medal or something.” Jasmine declared.  
“I’ll ask my team to get you a participation trophy.” Brydee smirked.  
“And I’ll just forget to help you get dressed next time.” Jasmine threw back at her, she gave her a smirk.  
Brydee gasped mockingly. “What ever will I do?” She asked.  
“You’ll figure it out.” Jasmine said.  
“You’re right, I’ll walk out naked and attract one of the men out there to help me.” Brydee stated. Jasmine burst out laughing. “And how can you be so sure someone will help you?” She asked.  
“Er, hello? Men, a woman's naked body. It doesn’t take a genius.” Brydee teased.  
“Well what if the men in the vicinity are gay?” Jasmine asked innocently.  
“Hope some of the women are too?” Brydee suggested.  
“Sure, I can see that going really well.” Jasmine stated.  
“If all else fails I’ll pretend to have lost my memory, people walk around naked after losing their memory right?” Brydee questioned.  
“You are a nightmare.” Jasmine pointed out.  
“Thank you.” Brydee said proudly, bowing before Jasmine.  
“Oh my goodness, get up.” Jasmine laughed.  
“Do I even want to ask?” Brydee heard Alex ask from behind her. She stood up and faced the Doctor.  
“I’m bowing to my savior.” Brydee said smugly before turning back to Jasmine and bowing again.  
“Has she been given pain relief?” Alex questioned. Jasmine went over to check her charts.  
“No, as I suspected. She’s just being Brydee.” Jasmine chuckled, Brydee was rolling her hand around and over dramatizing a bow.  
“Maybe I’m just high on life?” Brydee suggested.  
“Is that so?” Alex replied.  
“Well I get to move around so I’m pretty excited.” Brydee said.  
“Carla gave the all clear?” Alex asked, with excitement in her voice.  
“See, exciting isn’t it?” Brydee grinned.  
“She gave the okay for her to move around with nurses accompanying her, her notes say she has high hopes tomorrow she will clear her fully though. Which I may have let slip to a certain someone.” Jasmine said guiltily.  
“Ah,” Alex nodded, this would be why Brydee was in such a good mood.  
“Yep, would you like to go for a celebratory walk?” Brydee asked Alex. Alex’s smile wavered from her face.  
“I can’t, I’m actually on shift. I know I shouldn’t be here. I just wanted to check in an-” Alex rambled.  
“Alex it’s okay, you’re allowed to check in with me, you would if you were visiting.” Brydee explained.  
“Yeah, right. Of course.” Alex said slightly chuckling out of embarrassment.  
“Where is Tori? I wanted to ask when I could leave this hell hole- I mean, this very lovely attentive place which has a lot of amazing people in it everyday…” Brydee trailed off, she scratched her head and tried to avoid the awkwardness. Alex and Jasmine laughed.  
“Oh you will miss us Brydee Devin.” Jasmine said with cheek as she left the room.  
“Tori is running late, something to do with Grace. She’s right you know, who will you have to entertain you at all hours?” Alex asked.  
“Well I’m pretty sure me leaving doesn’t cut ties with our friendship. At least I hope it doesn’t. It doesn’t right? We can still hang out an-” Brydee asked, panic was etching her voice.  
“Brydee, relax.” Alex chuckled. “Of course we will still be friends and hang out, after everything we’ve been through you won’t be getting rid of me.” Alex promised.  
“Good.” Brydee breathed. She wasn’t sure why the thought of losing Alex made her panic.  
“I should go.. check on patients.” Alex said lifting her folder as some kind of proof.  
“If you find time maybe we could go for that walk?” Brydee asked softly.  
“Sure, I’ll try and make some time, in the meantime try and rest.” Alex said as she turned to leave. 

Alex had been run off her feet most of the day, Tori was supposed to be in to help as one of the other doctors was sick but she had also had an emergency earlier, Alex hadn’t heard from her since. She sat down in her office and ate in peace and quiet, she was hoping to get to Brydee before she finished her break but she was taking any chance she could to rest her feet. She decided to send a text apologizing for not being able to go for that walk, she promised to make it up to her. Brydee had sent the sad puppy dog emoji, another text came through, “You could always accompany me for lunch?” Alex smiled, just as she was about to reply, agreeing to come and join her, Tori barged into her office.  
“Alex, do you have a minute?” Tori sounded stressed.  
“As long as I don’t have to move, sure. What’s wrong?” Alex asked, motioning to Tori to take the seat opposite her.  
“Between Grace running a fever and no one being able to look after her this morning? Nothing at all.” Tori huffed.  
“Is Grace okay?” Alex asked, concerned. The cheeky little thing had grabbed all of their hearts, she looked so much like Robbo.  
“She’s fine. Jasmine offered to look after her after she finished here.” Tori explained. Alex smiled, Jasmine loved that little one like she was her own.  
“So what can I do for you?” Alex asked.  
“I talked to the board, I asked to work at a reduced capacity. The part time was fine and manageable but it isn’t fair on everyone who has to pick up the slack here when I just can’t make it. So once Brydee is out and cleared I’ll be going back to part time and further reduced, which brings me to you. Obviously they can’t have a Head of ED who is barely here, they’ll have to replace me and I personally put your name down. You’re an amazing doctor Alex and this place would be lucky to have you on a permanent basis, with my recommendation and everything you’ve done and the lives you’ve saved here personally, I expect you to get a call very soon about the position. I just wanted to give you a heads up.” Tori finished.  
“Wow that’s.. That’s amazing. Sorry-”  
“No, don’t be sorry. I want to be with Grace as much as possible and being back here this week fully just confirms what I’ve been wanting to do for weeks now.” Tori explained.  
“In that case, thank you. Seriously this means the world to me, I’ve been hoping to find a more permanent position here.” Alex said with glee.  
“I know, sorry to keep you hanging. It’s been hard to wrap my head around everything.” Tori apologized.  
“Don’t apologize, you’ve had a lot going on. I was more than happy to step up.” Alex stated.  
“Which is why I know I’m leaving this place in the right hands.” Tori said confidently.

After Tori and Alex finished up their conversation, Alex made her way to Brydee’s room. She couldn’t help the excitement that was flooding through her.  
“Still up for that walk?” Alex asked excitedly as she entered Brydee’s room.  
“I thought you wanted to soak up as much time as possible off your feet.” Brydee stated, she sat up and patted the bed where her legs had been, offering Alex a seat.  
“Well I got some good news that had made me completely forget about my aching feet.” Alex said.  
“Oh, do tell?” Brydee encouraged.  
“Tori is officially stepping down as Head of ED and has recommended me as her replacement to the board.” Alex sounded as happy as a kid at Christmas.  
“It’s about damn time!!! That’s great Alex, really. You deserve it more than anyone, between you and me, you’re ten times better.” Brydee winked.  
“Well I don’t think that’s true-”  
“It is, you’re just too modest to admit it. But that’s okay because I’ll do it for you. Wow, you must be excited huh?” Brydee asked.  
“Yeah, now I just have to hope the board doesn't see any reason to look elsewhere.” Alex said nervously.  
“They’d be idiots, look at all you’ve done here Alex. Mason would be proud of you.” Brydee said softly. Alex’s eyes instantly started tearing up.  
“How did you know I was thinking of him?” Alex asked.  
“When you’ve dealt with grief like I have, you can see it in other people more easily.” Brydee shrugged. Alex nodded, she understood.  
“You really think he’d be proud?” Alex asked quietly.  
“Of course he would, I’ve heard the way you talk about him. He idolized you, he looked up to you Alex. I’m pretty sure he would have followed you to hell and back, no offence to Tori but you were the one who stuck her neck out for him. You gave him the guidance he needed and supported him, he was incredibly brave for what he did for his sister. I can’t believe Tori didn’t get behind him on that, she’s a doctor.” Brydee said, confusion lacing her words.  
“Some people are stuck in the old ways. CBD oil is looked down on when it’s proved hundreds of times to be effective for so many illnesses.” Alex said, she was shaking her head.  
“We are lucky to have progressive doctors like you around, oh and now in charge!” Brydee said proudly.  
“Hopefully.” Alex tried to downplay.  
“I have a good feeling about it.” Brydee told her. Alex smiled. “Keep me posted?” Brydee asked.  
“Of course.” Alex said. She sighed before continuing. “I should go, don’t want to play favourites.”  
“Oh come on, everyone already knows I am.” Brydee said cockily. Alex gave her a look that Brydee had started to enjoy seeing. Alex had opened her mouth into a sort of smirk, flicking the back of her teeth with her tongue, processing the bold yet amusing comment. Usually it was caused by someone poking fun at her and catching her off guard or it was a sign she was about to argue against whatever was said to her. Brydee loved causing that smirk. Alex shook her head, deciding to leave Brydee hanging, she walked out smiling to herself. Brydee scoffed in amusement at Alex’s actions.  
“Goodbye to you too! You’re definitely my favourite doctor here, don't worry!” She yelled out to Alex. Brydee heard the Doctor chuckle from the hallway. Pleased with herself she laid back down and tried to get some sleep.


	55. Chapter 55

“Good morning!” Carla said brightly as she walked into Brydee’s room.  
“Does that excitement have anything to do with me?” Brydee said hopefully.  
“You know a Willow Harris right?” Carla asked.  
“Yes, how did you know?” Brydee asked.  
“I’m an incredibly busy woman and out of all my patients you are the strongest and most likely to bounce back easier. I called the local gym and she was more than willing to help, she mentioned she knew you. Even said she would do it for free, said something about helping her with the books?” Carla explained and asked.  
“Ah yeah I was helping her out before I got stuck in here. Awesome, so does that mean I can go home?” Brydee asked.  
“Not just yet, your doctors will want to run more scans first. May be another day or two-”  
“Noooooo.” Brydee wailed, flopping back into bed.  
“I know but it isn’t up to me. From this point on you’re in Willow’s hands, I’ve marked you down as fit to go home and Alex has made comments about your family being able to help at home so I’m sure it shouldn’t be long now before you’re out of here. Keep looking forward, yeah? You’re going to be fine Brydee. I wouldn’t leave you if I wasn’t sure of that.” Carla promised.  
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll keep focused on getting out of here and building up my strength. Thank you for everything, Carla.” Brydee said sincerely.  
“It was a pleasure.” Carla smiled before turning to leave.  
Brydee was once again left alone with her thoughts, she dreaded these moments. Roo had gone and bought dvd box sets, Buffy was in the mix along with a bunch of other strong female leads and queer characters, that and a bunch of fantasy shows. She smiled at the effort Roo made to find her shows she would like, Roo really seemed to understand her. She had put off watching Buffy, she wasn’t sure why, it was one of her favourite shows. Instead she was watching Riverdale, Brydee had mentioned to Roo that she had watched half a season at one point and loved to hate it so Roo had gotten it as a gag gift. Brydee was enjoying herself, at some point though loving to hate it became blurred with hating to love it. She decided to watch another episode to distract herself.

“Wait, hold on, tickle porn?” Brydee said bewildered.  
“Excuse me?” Brydee looked up and saw Alex at the end of her bed. Brydee’s face flushed red in embarrassment.  
“The show I’m watching, it’s ridiculous. This episode one of the guys is making videos while tickling people.” Brydee explained.  
Alex did a double take. “Wow so I did hear you correctly.” She said.  
Brydee closed her laptop. “Yeah, what can I do for your Doctor Alex?” Brydee asked.  
“We asked Willow if she could come up today and do a bit of a more grueling session with you, we want to do some before scans and after scans and I’d like to push you just to make sure nothing sneaks up on us after we discharge you. I just thought I’d come and explain it all to you, I understand if you want me to get Tori?” Alex explained.  
“No, I trust you. Hit me with it.” Brydee said.  
“Okay well so far your tests are really positive and they’ve given us no reason to doubt your progress but obviously being a high priority case we need to double and triple check-” Alex started explaining.  
“And totally not because I’m your favourite patient and you care about me.” Brydee interjected.  
“No of course not, strictly professional.” Alex teased. “As I was saying, we are confident those results will continue to be positive but I was talking to Carla and we both agreed pushing you during your next session would be a good idea to get readings when your brain is struggling. We may also put you through a stress test which will include blood work but that will depend on how the other results come back.” Alex explained.  
“If it will give everyone peace of mind I’m all for it, you know that.” Brydee stated.  
“I do but I can’t go skipping corners, even if you are my favourite.” Alex said, a smile playing on her lips.  
“Finally she admits it.” Brydee teased. Alex laughed, she shook her head getting back to the matter at hand.  
“Willow will be up shortly and we will go from there, did you want me to call Roo? I haven’t seen her around much..” Alex trailed off.  
“Dad’s been in the city for days, I told Roo to go and give him some company. I’ve been feeling a little better so it was no biggy.” Brydee remarked.  
“Sure about that?” Alex asked, skeptical.  
“Yeah, plus I have had you to keep me company who could need much else. It helps that I can see the finish line now, Carla said a few days still but I’m hoping with good behaviour I can get out early.” Brydee teased.  
“I know it seems like a sentence to be in here but it doesn’t work like a prison.” Alex retorted.  
“Pretty sure all the rules still apply, prisoners and guards can’t be together.” Brydee said playfully.  
“Okay that’s enough out of you.” Alex laughed.  
“I’ll be fine, I can handle Willow.” Brydee said confidently.  
Alex scoffed. “I wouldn’t be so cocky, Willow can be scary when she’s in PT mode.”  
“I’m counting on it, I want to be ready. I’m sick of being cooped up in bed.” Brydee said, Alex noticed the change in Brydee’s tone. Of course it was taking its toll on her, she was a woman of action. Alex had never seen her on duty but she assumed the woman was a force to be reckoned with.  
“Don’t worry, we will make sure you’re ready. You’ll be back to normal life before you know it, like you said you can see the finish line now.” Alex tried to reassure her. Alex’s pager started going off. She checked it and saw that she was needed in the boardroom.  
“Everything okay?” Brydee asked, she must have noticed Alex’s worried look.  
“Yeah I’m just needed elsewhere.” Alex informed.  
“Well don’t keep them waiting.” Brydee said.  
“Right, yeah. I’ll see you later?” Alex asked.  
“Of course.” Brydee agreed.

Alex took a big breath before she opened the boardroom door, 6 older men and women were sat around a table. They all looked up at her and smiled.  
“Doctor Neilson, please, take a seat.” One of the men had stood up to direct her.  
“As you’re probably aware by now Doctor Morgan has decided to step down as our Head of Emergency Department?” One of the women asked her.  
“Yes, she spoke with me yesterday.” Alex confirmed.  
“Then you’ll know she recommended you as her replacement, we’d like to know your thoughts.” One of the other men asked.  
“I’ve loved my time here at Northern Districts Hospital and I would love to continue on permanently.” Alex stated confidently.  
“You are no longer interested in working with the locum agency?” one of the women asked.  
“I’ve come to a point in my life where I wish to settle, make roots for myself and to be honest with you, this place is it for me.” Alex explained.  
“What about the siege situation?” the first man asked.  
“If you need me to talk to someone I can but I assure you I am in a good head space now, it wasn’t an easy road and it still hurts to walk by where Mason was killed but I think that’s understandable, he was my intern and a close friend. I would be ashamed of myself if I could just move past that but it’s never gotten in the way of my duties and it won’t. I want to cherish Mason’s memory and hopefully make him proud and I would love to do that here, where he would want me to be. I’ve got people I care about here and I definitely do not want to leave, I am all in.” Alex stated honestly. She wasn’t sure whether she should have gone into detail about Mason but it felt like the right move to her.  
“Impressive Doctor Neilson, I think I speak for everyone here when I say not only would we be honoured to have you as our Head of Emergency but Mason also would be honoured, he looked up to you. He talked about you quite a lot during his interview, we need someone like you not only to run this place but to take young doctors under your wing like Mason. He would have been an excellent Doctor under your watch Alex, I hope you know that.” Said the oldest of the women, the way everyone watched her talk Alex knew that this woman was the one who was really in charge, the one the others looked to for guidance.  
“Thank you for your words.” Alex said kindly.  
“You are welcome. Now, onto business. Doctor Alexandra Neilson, the board of directors here at Northern Districts would like to offer you the position of Head of the Emergency Department, we will give you a few days to think this over if you like.” The same woman offered.  
“There’s no need, I would be honoured and will gladly take on the role.” Alex beamed.  
“Well then, we will have a contract written up in the next few days and we will welcome you in officially. It’s good to have you on Doctor Neilson, truly.” The woman said proudly. All of the members of board shook Alex’s hand and congratulated her. Alex felt ecstatic but incredibly exhausted, she made her way to Brydee’s room.

Alex rounded the corner and noticed a wall of red enter her vision, Willow was standing at the nurses station.  
“Hey you.” Alex said happily. Willow turned to the sound of her voice.  
“Hey to you too, what’s got you so happy?” Willow asked.  
“Come.” Alex ushered Willow into her office, her now official office one that she can keep for however long she likes, she squealed a tiny bit.  
“Okay I’m all about this giddy Alex but it’s a rarity, what’s going on?” Willow asked again.  
“Tori is stepping down as Head of ED and they’ve offered the position to me, just now, which I took.” Alex said emotionally.  
“Oh my god! Alex, that’s amazing! You get to stay!” Willow beamed.  
“I never thought I’d be ready to settle into somewhere again but this just feels right, the timing is perfect.” Alex said, she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.  
“I don’t mean to be that person but it’s about time, Tori should have stepped down ages ago.” Willow said honestly. Alex laughed.  
“I expected you to argue not laugh.” Willow said.  
“You and Brydee are on the same wavelength.” Alex clarified.  
“Yeah well after the shitty job Tori did explaining things or should I say, not explaining things to Brydee when she was worried about her scans, can’t say I blame Brydee for being thankful you’re taking over.” Willow admitted.  
“She told you about that?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah, I came up to visit a few days ago. She mentioned having a panic attack and calling you. Thanks by the way, you really helped her out.” Willow said softly.  
“No need to thank me, not only is it my job but of course I’d help her.” Alex shrugged.  
“You know as well as I do the whole reason she asked for you to not be her doctor was so she didn’t have to put pressure on you. I don’t think she realized just how incompetent Tori had become.” Willow said, frowning.  
“She’s had a rough time. But I know what you’re saying.” Alex said.  
“Still too modest to admit you’re the better doctor huh?” Willow teased.  
“I swear between you and Brydee I’m going to end up with a massive ego.” Alex chuckled.


	56. Chapter 56

Alex and Willow made their way towards Brydee’s room, Alex noted how strange it felt to have Willow at the hospital signing papers. The only other person who had done that outside of the hospital as far as Alex was aware had been Mason. Alex had taken it upon herself to learn as much as she could about the fellow residents of Summer Bay, Maggie had battled with cancer a couple of years back and Mason had been there to help her regain her strength. She smiled at the would be memory of him helping her, she wished she had of been around earlier, she just wished she had more time with him.  
“You okay?” Willow asked quietly.  
“Thinking about Mason.” She smiled sadly at Willow.  
“You know you can always talk about him to me, if you like.” Willow offered.  
“I know. I was just thinking about you helping Brydee, how he helped Maggie..” Alex trailed off.  
“He was one of the good ones, always helping wherever he could. You know that’s how I got found out?” Willow said.  
“Found out?” Alex asked curiously.  
“You know how I said I wasn’t qualified? I didn’t really care back then and then Maggie came along and I messed up and realized just how important it was and dangerous it could be for me to not have the proper training. I mean there was no way I was going to be on Doctor Mason’s level of knowledge but it helped to at least learn the basics.” Willow chuckled.  
“You’re an amazing personal trainer Willow. Although I am glad you got your certificate.” Alex said sincerely.  
“Best decision I ever made. It was probably the first good decision I had made, telling Robbo. From that point on my life started looking up.” Willow reminisced with a small smile. They had reached Brydee’s door, Alex was about to knock when Willow basically kicked her door in.  
“WADDUUUUP!!” Willow yelled, very “bro” like.  
“I’m pretty sure a heart attack isn’t on the list of things we needed to do today, Willow.” Brydee said, glaring at the woman.  
“Admit it, you missed me.” Willow smirked.  
“Remind me to call you next time we need to bust someone’s door in.” Brydee said sarcastically.  
“Oh my god can you though because that wou-” Willow was getting excited.  
“No. There’s no way I would put you in the line of danger plus, I’m sure it’s highly illegal.” Brydee pointed out.  
“Psshhh, when has that stopped me.” Willow said.  
“I’m pretty sure using a credit card scammer which almost got both you and Dean thrown in jail, pretty sure that stopped you. Couple of months worth of community service probably helped.” Brydee stated.  
“How did you-” Willow asked, shock written all over her face.  
“You nearly went to jail?” Alex asked, perplexed.  
“Well I wouldn’t have, Dean got lucky though.” Willow explained.  
“If Willow hadn't handed herself in, Dean would have gone to prison.” Brydee informed.  
“You went through our files.” Willow summarized.  
“Of course I did. Remember that whole Colby situation? They had files on all of you, ready to take you all down. You’re welcome by the way.” Brydee said smugly.  
“Welcome for what?” Alex asked, very much not in the loop.  
“Colby did something stupid or heroic, depends how you look at it. He got Dean caught up in it who then involved Willow. God, he's such an idiot.” Brydee said, shaking her head.  
“He couldn’t sleep. He was falling apart, I’m glad he told me.” Willow defended.  
“You could have-” Brydee took a deep breath. She had been about to say been done for accessory to murder. “I don’t think you realize just how serious the case and charges were going to be. Trust me, you would have ended up hating Dean.” Brydee concluded.  
“What am I missing?” Alex interjected.  
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter.” Willow said quickly, she shot Brydee a look to silence her.  
“Right, anyway. How does this work exactly?” Brydee asked.  
“I’m going to take you up for scans now and then when we come back Willow will do some physio with you and push you a little harder than usual, then we will do some more scans and compare the two and see how everything is going.” Alex explained. Brydee smiled kindly at the doctor, grateful she was around to help.  
“Tell me again why I was stupid enough to kick you off my team?” Brydee mocked herself.  
Alex smiled. “You made the call that seemed the easiest at the time, turns out you needed me more than you realized.” Alex gloated.  
Brydee and Willow both snickered. “I always knew I needed you Doctor Alex, I just didn’t want to put unnecessary pressure on you. I was doing you a favour.” Brydee stated, grinning proudly.  
“Ahuh and how did that turn out for you?” Alex asked in amusement.  
“Well when Tori failed to explain what I needed I called you mid panic attack.” Brydee admitted. Both Alex and Willow stared agape at Brydee, neither of them assumed she would admit it.  
“What? Neither of you thought I would be willing to admit when I’m wrong? Ouch.” Brydee feigned hurt.  
“I didn’t expect you to be so honest.” Alex chuckled.  
“So we are in the same mind about Tori than? I swear she had a baby and became useless.” Willow remarked.  
“Willow!” Alex scolded.  
“She has a point, I know I’m used to superior Doctor Alex who knows exactly how to handle me at all times but Tori dropped the ball big time, any intern would have been able to see how much I was freaking out.” Brydee explained.  
“How to handle huh?” Willow asked slyly, she wriggled her eyebrows. Alex shot her a look similar to the one Willow sent Brydee earlier, Brydee missed the interaction.  
“Yeah Alex is great at pulling me out of panic attacks.” Brydee admitted. Willow glanced back at Alex with an apologetic look, Alex rolled her eyes. Alex knew Brydee had meant in moments of panic, she was starting to understand Brydee very well, she just didn’t think like that.  
“Anyway, ready to go up?” Alex asked.  
“Can I walk myself?” Brydee asked hopefully.  
“No, sorry. Willow gets to push you in a wheelchair.” Alex said smugly, she turned to Willow and smirked. Willow was very aware this was payback for her earlier suggestion.  
“Sucks to be you.” Brydee laughed.


	57. Chapter 57

Alex and Willow were waiting outside the room Brydee was getting her scans done, Alex explained that they would be exposed to unnecessary radiation due to the machinery so it was safer just to wait outside.  
“I’m curious about something.” Alex said.  
“Hm?”  
“The more time I spend with Brydee the more I understand who she is. She doesn’t notice the sexual comments anyone makes usually and if she does it’s mostly playful.” Alex murmured.  
“Is there a question in there?” Willow asked cheekily.  
“No, well yes but I don’t know how to ask or say it without sounding blatant or rude..” Alex trailed off.  
“You’re wondering why I keep making off handed sexual comments towards her?” Willow surmised.  
“Well.. yeah.” Alex admitted.  
“Honestly, she’s always been more innocent than the rest of us. I think we all just assumed it was because she had feelings for me and so she never looked elsewhere. But she loves a good dirty joke as much as the rest of us do, she can be incredibly flirty and playful when she wants to be. That’s always been Brydee, playful. I throw comments out because sometimes, sometimes I get a response and when I do it is always fun. I like pushing her buttons, although I have noticed she doesn’t respond like she used to.” Willow trailed off quietly.  
“There was that one time at the beach after the fight with Dean.” Alex suggested.  
Willow chuckled. "Yeah, I guess if the moment is right she goes for the jokes. Growing up she was much more flirty, I guess maybe losing Jai may have had an impact there?” Willow questioned more to herself than anything.  
“Possibly, I think being safe has a lot to do with it as well and like you said, the moment is right.” Alex said.  
“Like the other day?” Willow asked. Alex dipped her head.  
“Come on Alex, I know you two had a moment and I don’t think it was to do with the tickling.” Willow said.  
“Well I made a comment about being skillful with my hands-”  
Willow burst out laughing.  
“Yes and she took it how you did and basically made a flirty comment and then I said I would make her pay and she assumed I meant hurt her-” Alex cleared her throat, she had gone bright red.  
“Oh my god, where is this going?” Willow asked, shocked.  
“Nowhere. It went nowhere. I said some things like I told you last time-” Alex was saying.  
“Brydee always was more into intellect than anything else. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that’s what got her goin-”  
“Willow.” Alex warned.  
“I’m just saying, clearly whatever you said or suggested got to her which ensued the panic attack. Oh.” Willow’s brain kicked into gear.  
“Oh?” Alex asked.  
“When we talked about this just after it happened and I mentioned she sometimes would go quiet when we were kids and she just didn’t want to talk which is why we were giving her some space, yes?” Willow asked to make sure Alex was following.  
“Yes.” Alex said.  
“I should have known it was too good to be true.” Willow said, shaking her head.  
“What do you mean?” Alex was lost.  
“Okay so basically this one time when Dean and I were dating Brydee made a comment, it was Brydee being Brydee and it was tame compared to half the things Dean would say but Dean took it as a threat to his territory and lost it. Brydee had one of those moments and so we left her to be quiet for half a day and Jai and I were doing our heads in not talking to her so we decided to try and snap her out of it ourselves. I didn’t say anything at the time because there wasn’t much point to it but she didn’t make any playful jokes or comments for god knows how long after that happened. To be honest it’s only just clicking now what was happening, she shut herself off from making those comments to protect Dean and I. Alex-” Willow was explaining.  
“She’s blocking our comments to protect us.” Alex finished Willow’s train of thought.  
“Exactly. Usually if I throw a comment out she will take the bait, it’s always just in good fun but this, I know she’s blocking those thoughts off.” Willow pinched the bridge of her nose.  
“But sometimes she genuinely just misses the insinuation..” Alex pointed out.  
“But those times it’s usually when there is more intention behind it or it’s come from someone she just doesn’t associate that with. The flirty jokes she rarely misses and if she does it’s because she knows she shouldn’t respond in that given situation. Alex, I’m telling you she is purposefully ignoring the comments. She isn’t as okay as she is trying to make it seem.” Willow explained.  
“That all happened days ago.” Was all Alex could say.  
“Like I said I think she held off making comments about me for months on end. It wasn’t until Jai had started cracking jokes at my expense that she started joining back in. I think maybe she thought it was okay because Jai didn’t have feelings for me so she could prove to Dean it wasn’t coming from a place of feelings.” Willow summed up.  
Alex sighed. “What do we do?” She asked.  
“I’m not sure. Jai isn’t here for her to lean on and get reassurance and she sure as hell won’t take our reassurance.” Willow stated.  
“Chaotic.” Alex said.  
“What?”  
“Remember, she whipped out all those charts and tried to figure out whether we were tops or bottoms?” Alex said.  
“What’s your point?” Willow asked.  
“Well we spent the next half an hour teasing her and calling her amazing and adorable.” Alex pointed out.  
“You also remember she tried to convince us she was a bad person for a second there also.” Willow retorted.  
“What are you saying?” Alex asked.  
“You and I both saw her gearing up to convince us she was a bad person, she was trying to throw up walls and we thought we had gotten lucky. When we left she must have decided to put the walls up anyway.” Willow sighed.  
“She did say she was exhausted and self pitying.” Alex said.  
“We shouldn’t have left. Maybe if I stayed I could have-” Willow started.  
“Willow,” Alex said, she grabbed the woman's shoulders.  
“What?”  
“This isn’t your fault. No matter what we did nothing would have changed this, if she was going to put her walls up there was no stopping her and you know it. I just can’t believe I didn’t see it, she has been acting so happy these past few days.” Alex said.  
“She’s close to getting out, that would make anyone happy. I’m not suggesting she is faking all her emotions Alex. I just think she’s cutting out any sort of feeling that might have crept up on her, knowing Brydee she probably doesn’t even know she’s doing it.” Willow explained.  
Alex sighed. “You’re right, she probably doesn’t.”  
“You okay?” Willow asked.  
“I just worry. I’m an idiot for how I feel.” Alex said.  
“Alex, come on. We both know that isn’t true. I’ve known her all my life, she’s pretty hard not to fall for.” Willow chuckled.  
“What if she hates me? What if she decides to just completely block me out.” Alex started panicking.  
“Alex be reasonable, you know you mean too much to her to cut you out. Besides, I’ll threaten her if she does that.” Willow stated. Alex chuckled at Willow’s attempt to cheer her up.  
“I wouldn’t get on her bad side if I were you, you saw what she did to Dean’s nose.” Alex said, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.  
“Brydee is incredibly loyal Al, she will always be here.” Willow assured her.  
“She left you after Jai..” Alex trailed off.  
“I made a choice, a bad one and it hurt her. She didn’t choose to leave me, not really. She chose to start a new life and I can’t blame her for that, she’s come a long way.” Willow said proudly.  
“So have you.” Alex noted.  
“I wonder who I have to thank for that?” Willow teased.  
“You know full well Irene, Jasmine, Colby, Robbo, almost everyone in Summer Bay is the reason you’ve grown as a person.” Alex stated.  
“While that may be true, you have also impacted my life. Without you I never would have realized I like women.” Willow shrugged.  
“I don’t know hoooow you didn’t figure that out with Brydee around.” Alex teased.  
“Social constructs.” Willow pointed out.  
“Well for what it’s worth I’m glad she’s back in your life and that I’ve gotten to know her.” Alex said honestly.  
“Same here.” Willow smiled.  
“Doctor Neilson, we’re done.” The Doctor who had been in with Brydee informed her.  
“Thank you.” Alex said, they walked to the doorway where Brydee was sitting in the wheelchair waiting for them.  
“Ready to get your butt kicked?” Willow asked her.  
“You can try.” Brydee said confidently.  
“Just remember who has been in bed for a fortnight.” Alex said cautiously.  
“Don’t worry Alex, I won’t break her.. Much.” Willow said mischievously.  
“You wish.” Brydee stated. Willow shared a small smile with Alex, they knew it wasn’t much but it was better than nothing.  
“Can you be trusted to not burn the building down if I leave you two alone?” Alex asked as they entered Brydee’s room.  
Willow scoffed. “Ha ha. Get out of here, save some lives or something.” Willow basically shooed Alex out of the room.


	58. Chapter 58

“How are you feeling?” Willow asked Brydee.  
“Exhausted.” Brydee said, gasping for air. Willow worried she might have pushed Brydee a little too far.  
“You were supposed to tell me if you needed a break.” Willow pointed out.  
“What and let you win?” Brydee scoffed.  
“B this isn’t- I’m sorry I shouldn’t have made it seem like that, I just wanted to get you motivated. You need to be honest with me if we want to continue this.” Willow explained.  
“Right, I need a break.” She admitted. Willow sighed and helped her sit down.  
“So, you want to talk about what’s going on?” Willow asked.  
“What do you mean?” Brydee asked.  
“You remember back when we were kids, Dean got angry at you that time-”  
“Yes, vividly.” Brydee said.  
“And you cut yourself off, you didn’t make jokes with me for months because of it. You remember that right?” Willow asked.  
“No, I don’t. I’m sure I had good reason, especially if I overstepped and upset Dean.” Brydee shrugged.  
“Dean overreacted big time. My point is, you’re doing it now.” Willow said softly. Brydee looked up into her eyes.  
“How?” She asked.  
“Something happened with Alex and ever since you’ve not clapped back at any of my idiotic remarks.” Willow pointed out. Brydee remembered that “something” in great detail, she had tried her best to push it from her mind.  
“I’m sorry, I felt like I crossed a line with Alex and I panicked and I didn’t know what to do so I just buried it.” Brydee admitted.  
“I know, it’s okay. I just wanted to make you aware of what was happening, I think Alex thinks she messed up.” Willow explained. Brydee sighed, all she could think about was Alex whispering in her ear and what her body had wanted.  
“It’s my fault, I think I just miss Lance and Alex was having a laugh at my expense and I took it too far, I’m sorry Willow.” Brydee said.  
“You don’t have to apologize, least of all to me. You did nothing wrong, Alex and I aren’t together-”  
“It doesn’t matter, she’s still yours. You still love her and she still loves you. You’re both just being idiots. You’ll fix things, don’t worry.” Brydee assured her. Willow got the feeling Brydee was in complete denial, she couldn’t really blame her.  
“You know if you weren’t so blinded by your own self doubt you’d be telling me “Alex is her own person” and you know it. The future is big and bright and who know’s where we will all end up but right now B, I’m content. I got back on top of everything at the Gym, of course with your help. Colby has been leaning on me a lot more lately and I can’t blame him..” Willow sighed and continued. “I chose Bella, B. I chose her over believing Alex because I couldn’t bear the thought that Bella could do that to you. I belittled Alex and made her doubt herself, I put her through a horrible time on top of her struggling to cope with you in a coma. Even before that, just after Colby had found out about Salt, Alex had wanted to tell Mac about Bella nearly torching it and I denied her of doing that. I knew how much it was eating at her. She was becoming fed up with keeping lies and secrets from people. Alex is too honest and caring to do that but I asked her to drop it, to agree to disagree and of course she went with it, because she loves me. I was really selfish and shitty Brydee and I admit that but I can’t change the past, I can’t take back what I did. So I have to stick to my guns, I’m sticking by Bella and that means again I’m choosing her over Alex and over you and while you may be able to forgive me and see past it, Alex can’t and I don’t blame her at all. Bella hurt you and the last thing I should be doing is supporting her but she’s family and I know you’re family too but she needs me and Colby right now. I don’t know how much you and Alex talk about Bella but Alex isn’t happy. I couldn’t ask Alex to turn a blind eye to me helping her after everything Bella did, that would be extremely unfair and cruel. So I need to do this, I need to stick by my family and I understand if you can’t accept that- “  
“Willow, I get it. I don’t talk about Bella often when Alex is around, I’ve definitely noticed that she becomes prickly at the mention of her. You aren’t choosing her over me, you are here now, when I need you. You’re allowed to be there for both of us, don’t forget that okay?” Brydee asked.  
“Yeah, okay. Thanks for understanding. But you get why I can’t ask that of Alex right?” Willow asked. Brydee sighed.  
“Yeah, I understand. I didn’t realize just how much you were supporting Bella and how that might affect Alex. You’re right, it isn’t fair to put that on her. Since when did you get so wise and selfless, Willow Harris?” Brydee questioned.  
“I guess I have Alex to thank for that.” Willow said softly.  
“If you ever need to talk, I’m here. I know you think you’re fine but one day it will hit you, I know that feeling really well Will.” Brydee said emotionally. Willow realized in that moment just how much grief and stress Brydee must be going through, whatever the woman may feel for Alex must be making her feel incredibly guilty because of her love for Lance. She took Brydee’s hand.  
“I know and the same applies to you. I assume being cooped up here has given you a lot of time to think, losing Lance..” Willow trailed off.  
“It’s scary to think it’s only been a couple of months.” Brydee admitted.  
“I’m sorry, you have had so many horrible things happen to you.” Willow said quietly.  
“I worry everyone I care about will die.. I didn’t realize I had that fear until Alex was on the beach with me and I screamed at her to leave me alone. I know it sounds silly Will but I don’t know how I ever lived without Alex in my life. Or you for that matter. I was an idiot, I should have tried finding you.” Brydee said, ashamed.  
“We both could have, you know I don’t believe in fate or anything like that but I don’t know, Alex coming into my life and now you. It just feels right. Sure I regret not having all those years with you but I think it was for the best, you’re literally a Sergeant with the feds! That’s so impressive, you never would have gone that route if you had stuck around or tried to find me.” Willow admitted.  
“Maybe you’re right. Although I’m not sure getting whacked in the back of the head calls for fate.” Brydee scoffed.  
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you.” Willow said. She couldn’t help but think Bella’s actions are what lead Alex to realize that she cared about Brydee more than a friend should. Willow smiled at how ridiculous “fate” could be.  
“Whatever you say, Harris.” Brydee said, grinning. Willow could have burst into tears at how happy she felt upon seeing Brydee smiling, genuinely smiling.  
“I missed ya smile doofus.” Willow teased. Brydee gave her an over dramatized toothy grin. They heard a chuckle from the doorway, Brydee nearly fell off the bed. She composed herself and looked up at Alex.  
“What’s up doc?” Brydee asked. Before Alex could respond Willow started making bugs bunny noises which caused Brydee to laugh. If this were any other patient holding up Alex’s precious time she would have been annoyed but watching the two laugh, especially seeing Brydee so carefree made Alex’s heart warm. She would have wasted her whole day watching them laugh.  
“Alright alright cut it out.” Brydee said through her laughter. Willow attempted to hold in her laughter.  
“I came in to ask if you were ready for your next set of scans but it seems you’ve been slacking off.” Alex noted.  
“Woaaaaah.” Willow faked being insulted.  
“Damn, and here Willow was telling me not to push myself and to take a break.” Brydee said.  
Alex chuckled. “Before we head up for the other scans we need to get her moving a bit.” Alex said.  
“How about I race you up to the room?” Brydee suggested. Willow looked at Alex for approval.  
Alex sighed. “Fine but if you feel faint at all you stop okay?” Alex asked.  
“Promise. ONE TWO THREE GO!” Brydee yelled as she jumped off her bed running out the door, Willow not far behind. Brydee made it to the elevator first, she jumped in and the doors started closing, she saw Willow not far away, she wanted nothing more than to let the doors shut and beat her up but subconsciously she stuck her arm out and stopped the doors from closing. Willow smirked at her as they waited for Alex to join them.  
“Soft.” Willow teased.  
“It’s the Hufflepuff in me.” Brydee shrugged.  
“I thought you were racing.” Alex noted as she hopped in the elevator.  
“We were but Brydee here let her kind nature get the better of her. You just knew I’d win huh?” Willow said, smugly.  
“Sure Willow, keep thinking that. Maybe I just didn’t want to make you look like a loser in front of Alex.” Brydee retorted. She had to stop herself from laughing at the embarrassed look on Willow’s face.  
“Just wait, you still have countless PT sessions with me Devin.” Willow mildly threatened.  
“You mean physiotherapy sessions, Willow.” Alex said in a warning tone. Brydee snickered at the doctor coming to her defense.  
“Yes yes, that’s what I meant.” Willow said innocently.  
“Why do I not believe you?” Alex asked.  
“Because you’re a smart woman.” Brydee stated. Willow cackled. The doors dinged open and they made their way down the hall.  
“To the radioactive room!” Willow exclaimed.  
“I would argue your point but I’m not sure it would matter.” Alex jested.  
“Nope, I’ll always assume there’s glowing atoms in there or something.” Willow smirked.  
“I’m sorry, what?” Brydee asked, bewildered.  
“I informed Willow it was better for us to wait outside because the machinery contains radiation so there’s no point exposing ourselves to it if it isn’t necessary.” Alex explained.  
Brydee shivered. “I try not to think about that.”  
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Hopefully this will be the last scan you have to have in the near future.” Alex tried to reassure her.  
“Ah, Brydee! Come on in.” The doctor they saw earlier ushered Brydee into the room.  
“And now we wait.” Willow said with a sigh.


	59. Chapter 59

The trip back down to Brydee’s room had been rather silent, Alex and Willow had been talking quietly whilst Brydee walked 5 meters ahead, both women discussing how Brydee’s mood had seemed to plummet.  
“I know she is stressing about her results, we have no reason to doubt anything negative will come back, these are just.. Well it’s precautionary. Not only is she a high priority but as a doctor it’s just easing my mind more than anything, it’s just every time she goes for a scan she assumes it’s going to be bad news.” Alex explained her theory on why Brydee’s mood had changed.  
“Who could blame her. She had a seizure and the way she told me she had felt completely fine until all of a sudden she wasn’t. That must scare the absolute hell out of her, what if she’s in the line of fire and it happens? With those thoughts racing through her head I can understand why she’s worried. She knows you’re just looking out for her though Alex, don’t take it to heart.” Willow tried to reassure her. Alex’s brain kicked into overdrive at Willow’s words.  
“Can you give me 5 minutes with her?” She asked Willow.  
“Of course, I’ll wait out in the hall just come find me when you’re done?” Willow asked.  
“Thank you, I will.” Alex told her. She made her way into Brydee’s room, Brydee had been in there a couple of minutes she had gotten that far ahead.  
“I didn’t know we were racing back.” Alex teased.  
“Sorry, I just wanted to get off my feet.” Brydee explained.  
“You’re worried.” Alex stated. She watched as Brydee made eye contact with her, Willow was right.  
“I’m sorry, I know I have no reason to be.” Brydee said, she was shaking her head, she was confused.  
“Can I ask what it is you’re worried about?”  
“What if we miss something? I know you are all positive that if I had of had scans before last time that they would have come back bad but what if they didn’t? What if they came back fine? I guess the closer I am to getting out of here the more I start stressing about what could go wrong. Out there I have responsibilities, I’m in charge of officers who have their complete trust in me. What if I collapse and a child gets killed? It’s my job to make sure we keep them safe and what if I can’t? What if I don’t even get cleared to go back?” Brydee asked in a panic, once the words started coming out she couldn’t stop.  
“Brydee, you know I wouldn’t let you leave unless I was certain and if you don’t feel confident than you can stay as long as you need to. Maybe taking a couple of weeks off will help ease your mind? Get into a routine again before diving back into police work. I didn’t know you worked with kids?” Alex asked. She thought if she could get Brydee talking about something she was passionate about she could calm her down and ease her mind.  
“Yeah that was my field before.. It’s been a long time. Well it hasn’t but it feels that way. Lance tried convincing me to join his team but I refused, I was good at finding scumbags who took kids, I felt responsible somehow, I know Jai would be proud of me. There’s too many kids in trouble these days. After Lance was killed I threw myself into his work, I wanted to make them people who killed him pay and send a warning to any other cops who decided to go corrupt. I know my team are eager to have me back but I just don’t know how to.” Brydee admitted.  
“You know Willow is keen on you sticking around, she needs help with the gym and I’ve been told that’s why Robbo bought the gym, he was done with being an officer so he started fresh. I’m not saying that’s what you should do because I believe there are people out there who need your help but I don’t think anyone would blame you for taking some time off and doing a less high stakes job.” Alex told her softly.  
Brydee huffed. “I get where Robbo’s brain was at. I just wish he could have convinced Lance to step down but he was a cop through and through.” Brydee sighed.  
“Are you?” Alex asked.  
“I really don't know. I miss being in the midst of it all but it’s also been nice. I had been corresponding with my team on occasion, if they were really struggling with a case they would call me but they’re my best. I trained them to be better than me and so far they’ve proven me to be a good teacher.” Brydee smiled at the thought of her 3 officers.  
“Hopefully we get to meet them.” Alex said.  
“Speaking of, before Bella knocked my lights out I had just called Dad. I asked him to see about moving a team to Summer Bay, with the amount that goes on here he agreed and was going to set it up but you know, was in a coma and hadn’t thought of it since. I wonder if he still plans to do that.” Brydee wondered aloud.  
“Hopefully he’ll be back soon and you can ask him.” Alex said softly. Brydee nodded.  
“Are you nervous?” Brydee asked. Alex looked at her quizzically.  
“About?” She asked.  
“My scans.” Brydee said.  
“No, not even the slightest bit. You still have a ways to go with getting back on your feet but I don’t think your brain poses a threat anymore.” Alex said confidently.  
“I wish I had your confidence in my brain.” Brydee admitted.  
“I know the scans aren’t a reassurance to you but they are to me. I need the facts and the facts say you’re doing well.” Alex shrugged a little.  
“I’m nervous to not have a button to press, maybe I should pay Jasmine to stay at the Stewart's with me until I’m confident in myself.” Brydee joked.  
“You jest but I’m sure she would consider it if you were really that worried.” Alex said.  
“I’m already asking too much by having Roo sign off on it.” Brydee stated.  
“Roo is happy to help, trust me.” Alex assured.  
“You two seem to have gotten along well.” Brydee pointed out.  
“That tends to happen when someone you care about is in a coma.” Alex said pointedly.  
“I shouldn’t feel bad but I do, I feel like everyone has put their lives on hold for me.” Brydee admitted.  
“I can assure you, it does not feel that way at all and I and many others would gladly put our lives on hold for you. You don’t give yourself enough credit.” Alex told her.  
“Sometimes it’s easy to forget I have more family now is all. I can’t wait to get out and see people on my terms, I miss Ryder. He’s been too busy and I know he feels horrible but I don’t blame him, I helped get his life back on track so I’m glad he’s helping Mac out. I just miss my freedom but at the same time I’m terrified to get it back.” Brydee said quietly.  
“That is completely normal. The hospital is a very controlled environment, most people aren’t self aware enough to know it’s going to be a shock. I’m not sure if that makes you lucky or not, it does make you smart though.” Alex said.  
“Buttering me up?” Brydee teased.  
“Never, speaking of I should go grab Willow.” Alex said as she got up and moved to walk outside.  
“I’m sorry how did you go from buttering me up to W- wait no I don’t want to know.” Brydee said, wide eyed but she grinned cheekily at her. Alex chuckled, she was happy to see some of the humor she had become used to seeing from Brydee. Alex opened the door to find Willow a meter or so back from the door, making movements pretending she wasn’t incredibly guilty of listening in on their conversation. Alex raised her eyebrow at her.  
“What? I wanted to see if I was right and I was.” Willow stated as she walked past Alex.  
“Snoop.” Was all Alex said back.  
“Hey you know how you said you had everything back on track at the gym?” Brydee asked as Willow sat down. Willow glanced at Alex and smirked, thankfully she had been listening in and was positive she knew where this conversation was heading.  
“For now, yes.” Willow said.  
“Right, for now, do you think you’ll still need me? It’s just, well I was talking to Alex and I’m not sure I’m ready to go back to the force just yet and while I’m sure they will keep me on sabbatical for as long as I need I was hoping to keep myself occupied.” Brydee explained.  
“I’d love to have your help and I’m sure Jasmine would too. I’ll run things by her just to confirm though and we can figure something out.” Willow assured.  
“Thanks Will, if you need help with the books while I’m still on bed rest you can always bring it round to the Stewart’s, although I don’t think I’ll be sticking to bed rest for long.” Brydee said, she continued to whisper. “But don’t tell my doctors.” She tried to suppress her laugh from Alex who was giving her that “oh really” look.  
“Don’t make me come over there and force you to rest. I will ask Jasmine if you don’t watch it.” Alex playfully threatened.  
“Oh no how unfortunate, having to spend time with you.” Brydee teased.  
“Okay fine, I won’t come over I’ll send the nurse you seem to dislike.” Alex retorted.  
“Listen, she’s got it out for me-” Brydee started.  
Alex chuckled. “She’s got it out for everyone, don’t worry.” Alex admitted. There was a knock at the door.  
“Doctor Neilson the scans are back, should I go and get Tori?” One of the nurses Brydee actually did like asked. Alex turned back to look at her, wondering the same thing.  
“It’s fine, Alex will look over them later anyway.” Brydee stated. Willow laughed.  
“You make it sound like a bad thing, I’m just looking out for-” Alex was saying.  
“Alex, relax. I know, I was just mucking around. I’m glad you are thorough.” Brydee confided.  
“Good. I’ll be back shortly.” Alex said before walking out with the nurse.

“Thank you Isabelle.” Alex said as she took Brydee’s file from her. Alex made her way into her office, she wanted to be alone just in case there was any doubt in Brydee’s scans. She looked over the first scan, it was perfect much like the other ones, she knew it would be. Alex hesitated pulling out the next scan, if any scan were going to show any negative results, this would be it. She took a deep breath in and looked them over.


	60. Chapter 60

Alex laughed. Of course the scans were both perfect, she knew they would be but Brydee’s own worries had started seeping in. She shook her head, she had her facts and she was confident Brydee was going to be fine. She headed back to Brydee’s room to deliver the results.

“Back again so soon? Anyone would think you missed us.” Willow teased.  
“Behave or I’ll throw you out and you won’t know the results.” Alex warned, she smirked at the panic that flashed over Willow’s face. Willow grumbled when she realized Alex had played her.  
“You wouldn’t joke around if they were bad.” Brydee stated. Alex smiled to herself, Brydee could read her so easily.  
“Correct. They both came back positive, we can start looking to you actually getting out of this place now.” Alex said brightly. Brydee nodded.  
“You’re sure?” Brydee asked.  
“If you like I can show you the scans and explain it to you? I might need to find other scans to compare to but yes, I am sure. You’re going to be okay.” Alex assured her.  
“It’s okay, you’re the doctor and I trust you.” Brydee stated.  
“That doesn’t mean you can’t have your doubts. The offer will continue to be there if you change your mind.” Alex told her.  
“Thank you. I should call Roo and tell her the good news.” Brydee said, she still sounded a bit wary.  
“Could you ask her to come by my office when she gets here?” Alex asked.  
“Sure.” Brydee agreed.

Alex walked back to her office, she wasn’t sure how she was going to convince Brydee that she was going to be okay. She got out her phone and sent an email, she was going to track down scans that would show Brydee just how good her scans are in comparison to others.  
Not long after her phone rang.  
“Doctor Neilson speaking.” She answered.  
“Alex, it’s Tori. I have scans that should be what you need. I’ll come up shortly and log in and grab them.” Tori explained.  
“That was quick-” Alex had a light-bulb moment. “Raffy.” Alex stated as she realized who the scans were of.  
“Yes, her scans didn’t improve which is why she kept having seizures. I was her doctor at the time and the scans were horrible to look at, I’m sure they’ll be what you need to convince Brydee.” Tori assured her.  
“Thank you Tori.” Alex said.  
“You’re more than welcome, I’ll see you soon.” Tori said before hanging up the phone.  
Alex compiled all of Brydee’s scans as she awaited Tori’s arrival, she knows she shouldn’t be excited about this but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t. She loved everything science and being able to show someone else the science delighted her, she hoped Brydee would agree to it. She sighed, she decided to go and make sure it was okay.

“So, looking forward to leaving?” Willow asked.  
“Sort of, I’m looking forward to my freedom but shaking up my routine is going to be difficult. I’m just glad I have a lot of people to lean on for support. I’m going to miss seeing Jas and Alex every day.” Brydee admitted.  
“Nah, this is a small town and you’re in with the Stewart’s, you’ll be seeing everyone regularly, trust me.” Willow said confidently.  
“Especially if I go to the gym often.” Brydee hinted.  
“You know Jas is going to be more than okay with you taking a few shifts. Even so, you’ll be visiting due to physio for a few weeks and well if I’m lucky you’ll stay on as a PT client.” Willow winked.  
“Not likely. I could bench you in my sleep.” Brydee teased.  
“Oh I’d like to see you try.” Willow said with sarcasm.  
“Don’t challenge me, you know I love a good challenge.” Brydee laughed.  
Willow waggled her eyebrows at her. “Is that so?” She said.  
“Please, I could run rings around you. In fact if I were you I’d be worried Jasmine might see my potential and replace you..” Brydee mocked. Willow pinched her arm and they laughed.  
“Maybe she should consider putting you on as a full time trainer. I assume some day you do want to return to the force though, right?” Willow questioned.  
“Yeah, some day. I miss it, the rush of figuring out a case and saving someone. Nothing could replace that.” Brydee said, sighing.  
“I think in a way I know what you mean, I don’t save lives but when a client reaches their goal or something similar it feels rewarding and like I’ve done a small deed.” Willow admitted.  
“Willow Harris, anyone would say you are proud of what you do. I never thought I’d see the day, I thought you and Dean would be running around committing crimes for the rest of your lives together.” Brydee teased.  
“Nah, my life started falling into place, much quicker than Dean’s did but it was nice, not having to worry about where I was going to sleep or what I was going to eat for dinner. This place has been amazing to me.” Willow explained brightly.  
“I’m glad you found your place in the world, Will.” Brydee said sincerely. Alex knocked on the door before coming into the room.  
“Sorry, just me again.” Alex said sheepishly.  
“Alex you don’t have to apologize for seeing me.” Brydee informed.  
“Right yeah, Well I may have sent out an email asking for scans and Tori got back to me, Raffy, her little sister had a brain injury a couple of years ago and it brought on epilepsy. Besides the point, her scans can be compared to yours, I’ll be able to explain why yours are positive and hers were negative.” Alex informed.  
“Couldn’t you just use your own?” Willow asked. Brydee tilted her head in confusion, Alex noticed.  
“I have epilepsy.” Alex stated.  
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Brydee apologized.  
“There’s no need for apologies, I’ve had mine under control since I was a kid. I had a breakthrough seizure in my early 20’s but since then I’ve been okay. Which is why I couldn’t use my own, the scans back then were done differently and not recorded the same but Raffy’s scans are recent. I just wanted to make sure it was okay for me to-” Alex was explaining.  
“You know I’d appreciate you explaining it all to me.” Brydee said thankfully. Alex let go of a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.  
“Great.” Alex said, she made an excited noise that made everyone laugh.  
“You’re such a nerd.” Willow teased.  
“So what if I am?” Alex shot back.  
“I think it’s adorable.” Brydee stated. Alex tried to hide her smirk from Willow, she failed miserably and ended up laughing.  
“You’d think anything Alex did was adorable.” Willow mocked.  
“I also think anything you do is adorable.” Brydee said in a condescending tone, she tried to pinch Willow’s cheeks who slapped her hand away.  
“Shut up.” She brushed off Brydee’s comment. There was a knock at the door, Alex moved out of the doorway.  
“Roo!” Brydee said ecstatically.  
“Your dad is still in the city but I brought someone else with me.” Roo told her.  
“Miss me?” Ryder said casually as he strolled into the room.  
“I hate to admit it but yes, yes I did.” Brydee said.  
“Told you.” He said to Roo before enveloping Brydee in a hug.  
“Yes well no one enjoys stroking your ego.” Roo said sarcastically. Everyone chuckled.  
“So, Mac working you into the ground?” Brydee asked him.  
“In the best way possible, I’m just so glad to be back and not have my rep tarnished. Sorry I haven’t been up more, Roo said she and Alex had you covered, I think she just said that to ease my mind.” Ryder admitted.  
“Don’t be sorry, I didn’t want anyone putting their lives on hold for me. I’m glad you’ve gotten your life back on track, how are Martha and Alf?” She asked.  
“Grumps is on edge, the pump is definitely going to need to be replaced at the caravan park soon and he’s not sure he will be able to pay for it so it’s been tense.” Ryder informed.  
“Right, so pump breaks and-” Brydee was asking.  
“And no one can use the shower or toilets and it’s a massive mess of a situation because people are paying for those utilities and there’s already been complaints and people are saying they won’t pay rent if they don’t have water which is understandable but it’s not like it would be long term we just need to find the money is all” Ryder explained.  
“Right right, colossal fuck around.” Brydee agreed.  
“Martha has been pretty chill which I think is doing grumps head in as well.” Ryder chuckled.  
“Of course.” Brydee joined in with him.  
“But on the plus side I hear you might be coming home tonight?” He asked, turning to Alex.  
“There’s still a few things we need to do but it will either be tonight or tomorrow. It just depends on how things work out.” Alex explained. She didn’t want to confirm anything because she knew Brydee was stressing about going home. If Brydee wanted to stay another night Alex was not going to stop her.  
“Yeah Alex is going to teach me some science.” Brydee said. Alex couldn’t quite tell if she was teasing her or was genuinely excited about it.  
“Don’t tell me you’re a nerd?” Ryder asked.  
“Well I do solve crimes for a living. But no, I just enjoy watching people in their element.” Brydee said.  
“Does that mean you’re going to be really interested in our physio sessions?” Willow asked with sarcasm.  
“Oh yeah, I’ll just love watching you work.” Brydee sniped back. She didn’t catch the slight blush that touched Willow’s cheeks, Alex did, she snickered.  
“Alex.” A voice from the hallway called after her. Everyone looked quizzically in the direction of the hallway. Alex turned back around.  
“I’ll be back shortly, Tori is here.” Alex explained before meeting with the other doctor.  
“She must not sleep.” Ryder said absentmindedly.  
“I owe her that’s for sure.” Brydee agreed.  
“So how do you feel? Roo told me you’ve been doing well with the physio.” Ryder asked.  
“Much better, I still struggle to be on my feet for long but that’s why Willow is here.” Brydee said.  
“Oh?” Roo asked.  
“The hospital called, their physiotherapists are all busy and Carla, Brydee’s physio is pretty confident she will do fine with a normal PT so they asked me to sign on. I’m not about to say no to extra money.” Willow admitted.  
“Wow so you didn’t do this for me?” Brydee teased.  
“Hustler always hustles.” Willow said.  
“Please, you are so not a hustler.” Brydee threw back.  
“I could be.” Willow said confidently.  
“And I could be a pro surfer.” Ryder mocked, causing Brydee to burst out laughing.  
“I really did miss you.” She said through her tears of laughter.  
“I’ve missed you too.” Ryder said sincerely.


	61. Chapter 61

Roo, Willow and Ryder had gone to the cafeteria to grab some food and to leave Alex and Brydee to discuss the scans.  
“Is it necessary? To explain why hers are different to Raffy’s?” Ryder asked.  
“Brydee’s been on edge, we are pretty sure she is nervous to leave the hospital. She’s worried what could happen if she were to have a seizure randomly like last time.” Willow explained.  
“Okay but she isn’t going to right? She isn't like Raffy.” Ryder had started to panic.  
“You trust Alex right?” Willow asked him.  
“Yes.” He said confidently.  
“Trust she knows what she is doing. She knows Brydee is going to be okay, nothing is slipping through. They’ve done a bunch of different scans and all have come back positive. The only reason why Alex is hesitant is she doesn’t want to push Brydee into leaving if she isn’t ready.” Willow explained further. Ryder nodded to himself thoughtfully.

Alex and Brydee had spent the last half an hour looking over Brydee and Raffy’s scans, Brydee mostly nodded along when Alex said something of importance and would repeat her words back to her as if trying to understand further.  
“I’m not sure if you’re understanding or just agreeing for my sake, do you at least feel reassured?” Alex asked with a touch of humor.  
“Alex I trust you and your brain. I felt reassured when you told me my scans were good. It is nice though, to have you explain it and for me to actually be able to see what you mean. I’ve always been a hands on learner. I understood when you explained the other day but having this here, these scans and you showing me physically, it makes a lot more sense in my brain, I trusted you already Alex but it is reassuring to be able to see it with my own eyes.” Brydee explained.  
“I’m glad this was able to help you understand, how are you feeling about going home?” Alex asked.  
“It’s going to happen sooner or later. I may as well not put it off.” Brydee said.  
“You’re in good hands and I’m a phone call away, you won’t be alone.” Alex promised.  
“I’ll hold you to that.” Brydee joked, “Is it scary?” Brydee asked, Alex felt the mood in the air shift drastically.  
“Is what scary?” Alex asked, confused.  
“Having epilepsy.” Brydee clarified.  
“Oh,” Alex took a moment to think things through.  
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked-” Brydee started to apologize.  
“No I’m glad you asked, it's just a hard question to answer, I was thinking about how to answer.” Alex explained.  
“Right, of course.” Brydee said quietly.  
“It was scary, growing up and the stress of school, it was horrible. I got into a routine and found out what worked for me so I haven’t had to worry about it in a while, I got used to the way epilepsy worked and it just became my new normal. Not being able to go for a swim alone though, that sucks.” Alex admitted.  
“Damn. Is it okay to go out if someone is watching?” Brydee asked.  
Alex tilted her head in confusion, trying to figure out where Brydee was going with it.  
“It depends, how close is a lifesaver? How good is the person watching me? Can they perform CPR if necessary? It’s things like that I have to consider. But if I was feeling okay and it was in a safe environment and help was close by, I guess I could. Why do you ask?” Alex said.  
“I can’t imagine not being able to go out into the ocean alone. When I go out and surf or swim it just sort of clears my head, as much as I love company out there sometimes it’s nice to just be by myself, you know?” Brydee explained.  
“Oh I know all too well. Independence is a blessing.” Alex chuckled.  
“Maybe one day we can go out and I can watch you. I know how to perform CPR but I’ll do a refresher course to ease your mind.” Brydee stated. Alex felt touched at her sentiment.  
“Maybe one day.” Alex agreed. “For now you need to focus on regaining your strength and I don’t just mean physically, I’ve got some games and such to do with brain challenges. They will help, your brain response has been great but it won’t hurt to try and push yourself, especially on days where you don’t feel up to physical activity. Keep your mind active, your keyboard has been a big help, that’s how you’ve avoided doing these challenges previously. I put the keyboard down as your activities, you’re welcome.” Alex explained humorously.  
“Wow, my hero.” Brydee said teasingly.  
“Would you like me to make it mandatory to do these?” Alex asked sternly.  
“Nope, nope, I’ll be good.” Brydee promised.  
“Good, even if you get bored with them, go back to your music. Play card games, anything to help keep your brain active.” Alex said.  
“Here I was thinking you just enjoyed spending time with me all those hours we played cards together when really you were just doing brain exercises with me.” Brydee mocked hurt.  
“I’ll have you know I played cards with you hours on end to keep you company. I know how boring it can get being isolated here.” Alex defended.  
“Two birds, one stone.” Brydee stated.  
“I wouldn’t look at it like that but I guess you have a point. I did enjoy myself though.” Alex assured her.  
“I think I might have gone insane if you hadn't been here.” Brydee admitted.  
“Lucky for you I was here. I wouldn’t have been anywhere else.” Alex stated.  
Brydee sighed. “I really am sorry about taking you off my case, my intentions were good I just didn’t realize how much I needed you and your support. Tori just didn’t get me.” Brydee apologized and explained.  
“Stop apologizing.” Alex chuckled. “I understand why, really I do. Actually that reminds me, I’ve got some news.” Alex said suggestively.  
“Oh? Do tell.” Brydee encouraged.  
“Tori is stepping down as Head of Emergency. The board at Tori’s recommendation has offered the position to me.” Alex said proudly.  
“What?! Alex! That’s great! You deserve it and honestly this town needs you.” Brydee said excitedly.  
“Thank you, I am fairly relieved. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do once Tori wanted to come back full time.” Alex confided.  
“What do you mean?” Brydee asked obliviously.  
“Well with my agency I usually take short contracts wherever they pop up. I took temporary jobs to get over my ex, I guess Summer Bay changed my outlook a bit and I have been hoping to stay.” Alex explained.  
“Sure sure, Summer Bay changed your outlook. Totally not a hot Personal Trainer.” Brydee teased. Alex gave Brydee her signature open mouth smirk, as Brydee liked to put it.  
“She may have helped sure. But I just feel like this place has become my home and yes Willow is a part of that but I just feel connected to this place and I’m not sure I fully understand why. Maybe Mason has something to do with it?” Alex wondered mostly to herself.  
“He would be so happy for you Alex.” Brydee told her.  
“I hope so.” Alex said quietly.  
“And proud, he’d be very proud. I understand now how dad feels, how anyone feels really who had never met Jai. I feel like I know Mason even though I never met him. I know him through yours and Willow’s memories only and it’s strange, to think you know someone so well but to have never met them.” Brydee admitted. Alex nodded.  
“I feel the same about Jai, he was your twin after all so I feel like he’s a part of you so in a way even though I never got to meet him, I still know him in some capacity.” Alex admitted.  
“He would have loved you, he would have picked on you a lot for being such a nerd but you wouldn’t have minded. He had a way of making people feel loved even if he was being an idiot.” Brydee explained softly.  
“Much like you, minus the idiot part of course.” Alex blurted out.  
“I do not.” Brydee defended.  
“You do, not even five minutes ago you were talking about taking a CPR course so I could go for a swim. You don’t even realize how incredibly kind that is of you to offer.” Alex explained. Brydee had gone quiet, Alex could tell she was deep in thought.  
“I never noticed.” Brydee said quietly.  
“I do. Everyone does. Why do you think the Stewart’s are so enamored by you? You’re kind and loyal and you show people how much you care about them instead of saying it. It’s admirable.” Alex stated.  
“I know what you said was sweet and all but my brain fixated on kind and loyal and how much of a Hufflepuff I am.” Brydee said excitedly whilst pulling out a banner from her bag. Alex laughed, of course Brydee had a Hufflepuff banner.  
“Please tell me you didn’t spend a tremendous amount of money on that.” Alex jokingly chastised.  
“Nah, one morning when Martha came to visit she mentioned something that got me onto harry potter, you know how I’ll jump at any chance to talk about it, so I told her how I was a Hufflepuff and she must have gone home and researched it because a couple of days later she brought this in and said she had made it herself.” Brydee explained proudly.  
“And they say I’m the nerd.” Alex teased.  
“You’re a hot nerd, I’m the loser type of nerd.” Brydee said nonchalantly. Alex blushed.  
“You do know I love to read books too, right?” Alex questioned.  
“Yeah but any book nerd you have is outshone by your hotdoc status.” Brydee explained. Alex did a double take.  
“What in the heck does hotdoc status mean?” Alex asked bewildered.  
“Well you see, you’re incredibly attractive and a doctor, therefore, hotdoc. Trust me, most doctors are nowhere near your level. I’m surprised you haven’t had any patients have their hearts give out when you walk into a room.” Brydee explained in jest.  
“I am not hot.” Alex said, bemused.  
“Yes you are. The fact that you don’t know it is endearing, Alex Neilson you could be such a heart breaker if you knew your potential.” Brydee said in amusement. Alex was bright red.  
“I-” Alex couldn’t form words.  
“It’s okay Alex, you don’t have to say anything. it’s me, I know how hard it is to take compliments.” Brydee said sincerely. Alex smiled softly, she felt comfort at the fact that Brydee wouldn’t push her, she knew where the line between uncomfortable was and she respected it.  
“I’ll have to make up a name for you.” Alex teased.  
“Well to be fair I didn’t make that name up, I hear everyone using it.” Brydee shrugged.  
“Wait, what?!” Alex asked, slightly panicked.  
“I could be wrong and ugh I hate to admit this but I believe Bella started it.” Brydee admitted.  
“Of course she did.” Alex grumbled, causing Brydee to laugh.  
“So am I clear to leave?” Brydee changed the subject.  
“Yes, if you want that. We could watch over you for a couple more days but honestly you’ll recuperate much faster at home and out of here.” Alex stated.  
“I’m sure I’ll be fine, I’ve got Roo and the others. Thank you Alex, for everything.” Brydee said sincerely.  
“There’s no need to thank me but you’re more than welcome. I’ll go get the forms for Roo to sign.” Alex said before making her way back to her office.


	62. Chapter 62

Brydee stretched out, Ryder had taken her bags and keyboard down to the car with Willow’s help. She looked down at her bed, her temporary home.  
“Feels weird?” Alex asked quietly. Brydee nodded.  
“For the past couple of months I’ve jumped from hotel to hotel, I had barely moved into the Stewart’s house before hurricane Bella happened. This bed, this place, it’s been the longest home I’ve had in a while. I’m sorry, I know it sounds incredibly lame and stupid but I’ve gotten used to it and this place. I’ll miss teasing Jasmine while she helps me, I’ll miss seeing you every day as part of my routine and I’ll even miss the grumpy nurse, I had fun annoying her.” Brydee admitted.  
“It isn’t lame, we see it often. Everyone here, even the grumpy nurse will miss you. You’ve made an impact on us all, I’ll also miss seeing you every day.” Alex admitted.  
“Don’t worry, you can’t get rid of me. It will be harder though when I’m not on your morning rounds.” Brydee chuckled.  
“We’ll just have to have occasional morning coffee?” Alex suggested.  
“I like the sound of that.” Brydee agreed. Roo barged into the room in action mode, completely missing the tender conversation that was happening.  
“Alright everything is in the car, including Ryder and Willow who was insistent on making sure you got settled in okay. Are we all good to leave?” Roo asked.  
“Those two should not be left alone together. They’ll destroy the car.” Brydee joked.  
“She’s all yours.” Alex said kindly to Roo.  
“Don’t be a stranger okay? You’re part of our family now too. We could never repay you for everything you’ve done for Brydee but know it means the world to us.” Roo told Alex. Alex saw Brydee take a deep breath out of the corner of her eye, Brydee was trying to steady herself, clearly moved by Roo’s words.  
“After sampling Martha’s cooking, I may hold you to that.” Alex joked.  
“Good good! Come on let’s get you home.” Roo said to Brydee. Brydee found herself routed to the spot, she wanted to leave but she couldn’t bring herself to move forward. She very much wanted to thank Alex, she wasn’t the most physical person, she was well aware of that and Brydee had a feeling Alex had come to be aware of this too but Brydee wanted more than anything to hug Alex, she wasn’t sure if this was because she wanted to thank her more personally or because she felt like this was a weird sort of goodbye. She stood unmoving. Brydee was thankful when she heard Roo clear her throat.  
“I’ll meet you downstairs.” Roo said softly. Roo understood Brydee thought to herself, she wondered if Alex understood the battle raging in her mind.  
“Can I hug you?” Alex asked softly. Brydee felt her eyes widen, no one really asked her for permission. Brydee smiled, Alex did understand and it made Brydee’s mind clear just a little as if the question removed some of the fog. She nodded whilst looking at Alex, she wasn’t sure her voice would be strong enough to form words. Alex and Brydee were of similar height, when Alex made contact with her body Brydee relaxed into the hug. She burrowed her face into Alex’s neck and breathed in her scent. Brydee tried to pour every bit of emotion she felt into the hug, hoping Alex would know just how much these past few weeks had meant to her. She sighed in content at how easy it felt with Alex, usually she would have recoiled at someone wanting to hug her. Alex felt the emotion Brydee was conveying, she felt content and safe in Brydee’s arms. When Roo had entered the room thanking her and asking for Brydee to leave Alex knew something was wrong, it was clear she was having an internal battle. Alex had wondered whether or not the same thought had crossed Brydee’s mind, Alex had felt such a strong urge to hold Brydee, to let her know she wasn’t alone and Alex would always be there. Watching Brydee’s eyes light up in recognition gave Alex the answer to her question. Brydee simply nodding instead of using her words caught Alex off guard, it wasn’t the silence that threw her, it had been the stoic expression that glossed over her features. The bright eyed look that clearly meant Brydee hadn’t expected Alex to ask or even knew she also wanted to be held had disappeared. The look on Brydee’s face now was a mask, to protect herself Alex was sure of it. It startled Alex slightly, until she moved forward and took Brydee into her arms. The mask that had slipped onto Brydee’s face had been to cover her emotions, Alex was almost positive Brydee couldn’t have physically spoken without her voice breaking, she was feeling overwhelmed and emotional and she hadn’t been ready to let Alex see her so vulnerable but Alex felt it, she knew. The way Brydee held onto her, the way she breathed in and sighed, Alex knew just how grateful Brydee was, how much she cherished Alex. She squeezed her just a little bit tighter to hopefully convey that she cared about her just as much. Alex didn’t want this moment to end, she knew not having Brydee around all the time was going to take its toll on her. Alex tried not to think about how she was going to see Brydee every day, sure friends got coffee and hung out but soon enough Brydee would get suspicious of Alex wanting to be around her all the time. She subconsciously sighed sadly into Brydee’s neck. Alex felt Brydee wrap her arms around her a little bit more and rub circles on her ribs to try and comfort her. The motion made Alex become aware of just how tightly they were holding each other, Brydee hadn’t wanted to apply more pressure because she had already been aware of how close they were to squeezing the life out of each other. Alex chuckled at the fact that she had been oblivious to that fact. She felt Brydee smile when she chuckled, her body heated up slightly at the thought of Brydee’s lips being on her neck.  
“What’s so funny?” Brydee asked lazily into Alex’s neck.  
“For a moment I didn’t realize just how close we were to squeezing each other to death.” Alex admitted. Alex felt Brydee chuckle into her neck, the chuckle Alex realized, shook her whole body they were that close.  
“I’ve never felt that before.” Alex said.  
“Hm?” Brydee asked.  
“When you laughed I felt your whole body laugh and it reverberated into my own.” Alex explained.  
“More studies should be done on hugs. I swear if you could bottle a hug they could cure diseases.” Brydee stated.  
“Maybe I should research it, I’d need a willing participant though to study, you up for it?” Alex joked. Brydee grinned.  
“More than willing, sign me up Doc.” Brydee replied. Alex felt Brydee’s hands move down her back, she placed her hands softly on Alex’s hips and moved back to look into Alex’s eyes. Alex saw Brydee’s smile touch her eyes and eventually subside, the moment was coming to and end and they both knew it.  
“I should go..” Brydee trailed off. Alex sighed.  
“Call me if you need anything. Seriously, anything, even just to talk.” Alex said.  
“I will, thank you for everything Alex.” Brydee said, squeezing Alex’s hand before she turned and walked out the door. Alex stood in the doorway for quite a while, she looked back to the bed Brydee had occupied for the last few weeks and wondered if she was ever going to be able to look at it and see anyone else there.  
“Alex?” Jasmine spoke to her quietly, it was enough to pull her from her thoughts but not scare her, she was thankful for that.  
“Jasmine, sorry I-” Alex went to give some excuse as to why she’d been standing there doing nothing.  
“Don’t apologise, Brydee’s one of a kind. Our jobs are weird, seeing people off should be good right? It means the person is healing and ready to go home but it doesn’t feel that way for us. It’s like when family comes to visit, it’s always harder for the person who has everyone stay because you notice just how quiet and lonely it is when everyone leaves. I get it, Alex.” Jasmine tried comforting her.  
“I just feel a bit silly is all.” Alex admitted.  
“Try not to, it isn’t silly at all. You just care. We could go for drinks later? Might cheer you up.” Jasmine offered.  
“Thanks, I’d like that.” Alex answered, she could do with a drink after the emotional day she’s had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the person that inspired this chapter, mainly the hugging scene, I wish I could hug you right now. Thank you for inspiring me to keep writing/posting this story, knowing it brings a smile to your face makes me want to keep uploading. I never would have thought someone could care so deeply for Brydee as I do so thank you for not only caring about me but caring about her as well.


	63. Chapter 63

Alf and Martha met them in the driveway, waving as they arrived.  
“Anyone would think I was returning from war or something.” Brydee joked.  
“They’ve been worried.” Roo informed.  
“I know, I feel awful.” Brydee admitted.  
“It isn’t your fault.” Ryder said pointedly. Brydee saw Willow’s face drop slightly, as Ryder and Roo got out the car she held Willow back to talk to her.  
“It isn’t your fault either, remember that. It doesn’t matter that you defended Bella, you didn’t put a rock in her hand Will.” Brydee said softly.  
“I know, it’s hard to push it from my mind though. They all saw me defend her, they watched me belittle Alex. They must think I’m an asshole.” Willow said sadly.  
“They know you, they know how much you love Bella. They’d probably think less of you if you hadn't defended her.” Brydee tried to reassure.  
Willow sighed.  
“You have nothing to worry about, if anyone says anything I’ll set them straight.” Brydee stated.  
“No, I probably deserve it.” Willow said sadly.  
“You don’t, we know you better than that.” Roo said, she had appeared from behind the car after sending Ryder in with Brydee’s stuff. Willow jumped in fright.  
“Did you know I plan on helping Colby And Bella through the court case?” Willow asked.  
“You’d be surprised how much information you can get out of someone when they’re bored in a hospital bed.” Roo threw Brydee under the bus.  
“You told her?” Willow questioned. Brydee shrugged, it hadn’t seemed like a big deal to her.  
“Because she knew we wouldn’t judge you. Bella is your family and she’s been through hell, Brydee’s right, she needs help and she’s very lucky to have you by her side.” Roo explained. Willow smiled a little.  
“Right, now that we’ve sorted that, let’s go inside. I’m starving and something smells amazing.” Brydee said. Willow nodded.  
“Brydee!” Martha greeted her when they reached the door.  
“Martha, please tell me that’s your cooking I can smell.” Brydee asked.  
“Of course, we decided on roast chicken seeing as you liked it last time.” Martha explained.  
“You know I’m a sucker for chicken.” Brydee teased.  
“Good good, Ryder’s taken your stuff upstairs. Willow dear are you staying for dinner?” Martha asked. Willow seemed unsure.  
“Course she is! Who would turn down a free meal.” Alf exclaimed from behind Martha. Brydee ducked around the older woman to head towards Alf.  
“Brydee.” He nodded. Brydee wrapped her arms around him and flung herself into his arms. He chuckled at her enthusiasm.  
“Grumps.” She said emotionally. Alf huffed at the use of his grandson's nickname but continued to chuckle.  
“How’re you feeling?” He asked her.  
“Better, still a bit wobbly on my feet but Willow’s ready to kick my butt into gear so I should be good as new soon.” Brydee said confidently.  
“It’s good to see you in better spirits. Your dad called earlier, said he would ring you when he had the chance. He feels bad he isn’t here.” Alf explained.  
“He’s off doing something important for me, can’t blame him for that.” Brydee assured him.  
“Alright well let’s all get inside and have some dinner.” He said brightly.

“So, I put the keyboard on your bed. I wasn’t really sure how to set it up or how you would want it so I just left it for you, I can help though if you need me to set it up later. Just come find me.” Ryder informed her as they sat around the dinner table.  
“Thanks, I should be fine.” Brydee said.  
“It’s probably better for now to have him help, don’t want you slipping and smashing it into the floor.” Willow teased.  
“Ha ha. Fine. After dinner can you help?” Brydee asked Ryder.  
“Yeah sure thing.” He responded.  
“So, what’s going on with the pump? Ryder mentioned it’s about to go?” Brydee asked Alf.  
“Ah, he shouldn’t have worried you with it. The things old and needs replacing, there’s been a few issues but nothing I can’t handle.” Alf assured her. Brydee huffed, what was it with men and not wanting to share the load.  
“This is amazing, thank you for having me.” Willow said politely.  
“You’re more than welcome.” Martha replied.  
“Bet Irene cooks up some good meals though hey?” Ryder asked.  
“Yeah she does, perks of living with someone who owns a diner I guess.” Willow responded.  
“How’s she doing, I know she was close with Bella.” Roo said. Brydee saw Willow go tense.  
“She’s um, concerned. We always knew Bella was a handful but I don’t think anyone expected this.” Willow said truthfully.  
“No, I was hoping she’d take a different route but here’s hoping Brydee and her Dad can get her the help she needs.” Roo said positively.  
“It hasn’t been easy but Dad holds sway with them so once he figures out what they all want it should just be a matter of buttering them up. Although don’t tell anyone I said that.” Brydee remarked.  
“Speaking of, I told Colby I’d check in, thank you so much for dinner. I’ll call you tomorrow and we can schedule your physio sessions?” Willow asked as she got up to leave.  
“Yeah sure, sounds good.” Brydee agreed, she got up and walked Willow out.  
“I can drive you home if you like? At least, I think I can?” Brydee questioned.  
“Your scans were all clear so I’d say you’ve got the all clear on that but it’s okay, it isn’t too far and I could do with a walk.” Willow said.  
“Clear your head?” Brydee asked.  
“Yeah, I’m sorry for being such a downer. It's just, well you know better than anyone how rough of a few weeks it’s been.” Willow said, exhausted. Brydee smiled.  
“I sure do. Have a nice night, Will.”  
“You too B.” Willow replied, she turned and walked back down the driveway, Brydee watched her until she could no longer see her. She sighed, she was starting to worry Willow wasn’t as okay as she thought she was.


	64. Chapter 64

“Geoff’s plumbing, how can I help you?”  
“Hi, my name is Brydee, my uh family own a caravan park and the pump is starting to go. I’m calling to see if someone could come and take a look at it?” Brydee asked the woman who answered the phone.  
“Yeah sure, the Stewart’s caravan park?” The woman asked.  
“That’s the one.” Brydee chuckled.  
“Geoff’s got a spare moment in about 20 minutes if that’s good with you? If not it will have to wait until tomorrow.” The woman informed her.  
“20 minutes is fine, do I need to do anything?” Brydee asked.  
“He will just need the keys and then he will chat with you about a fix or replacement.” She said.  
“Okay thank you very much.” Brydee said.  
“Have a nice day.” The woman said brightly.  
“You too.” Brydee said, hanging up the phone. She walked back inside hoping the coast was still clear, she hadn’t wanted to let any of the others know she was hiring a plumber. She got lucky, she found the keys on top of a cupboard and waited down at the caravan park. 20 minutes nearly to the dot Geoff rocked up.  
“Brydee?” He asked, extending his hand.  
“Yeah, Geoff right?” She clarified while shaking his hand.  
“The one and only.” He smiled. She handed him the keys and waited on the park bench for him to come back. 15 minutes went by before he came back.  
“Bad news, it’s in pretty bad shape. I could mend it but even if I did it isn’t a guarantee fix, it could still blow at any moment.” He explained.  
“So our best bet is to have it fully replaced?” She asked.  
“Afraid so. Alf’s always been good to us so I can try and get him a good price, I wish I had better news.” He said honestly.  
“It’s okay these things happen, could you write me up a quote? I’d rather sort this all out between the two of us although I won’t say no to Alf’s discounted price.” She said smiling.  
He chuckled. “Sure thing, it might be a couple of grand though still, that would be including labour?” He explained.  
“Of course, I don’t plan on going anywhere else so you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours. I’m a Sergeant with the AFP, you’d never believe how many times we had to get guys in to fix the plumbing at the academy. I’m hoping to get a team here so if we ever need any plumbing done, you’ll be the first to call.” Brydee stated. Geoff perked up at the mention of more potential business, Brydee knew he would. Once you got your foot in with massive corporations you were pretty much always set for steady work.  
“You’ve got yourself a deal there. Usually you’d be looking at about a grand or so for the actual pump and 750 or so for labour but how about we cut it even on a grand?” He offered.  
“How soon do you think you can get the part in?” Brydee asked.  
“I’ve already got this particular one in stock, I can have it all done and installed by the end of the day.” He promised her. Brydee tried to hide her smile, she should have felt bad using her status to get things done but when she really thought about it she was doing him a favour, she wasn’t lying, she would call him first when she needed it. Brydee offered out her hand.  
“This afternoon sounds good to me.” Brydee said. Geoff shook her hand.  
“Right, I’ll head back to the shed and grab what I need. I’ll call my receptionist and get her to send you through the bill.” He said, he sounded rather excited. 

Geoff had kept to his word, at around 3pm he called her to come and collect the keys. When she went down to meet him her stomach dropped, Alf was talking to him. Brydee had hoped to get it all sorted without anyone finding out but of course, this was a small town. She kicked herself for not running interference.  
“Brydee! Everything’s been sorted, bumped into Alf here and he is a fairly hard man to lie to so I apologize but I told him what I was doing here.” He apologized, Brydee was actually shocked that he felt bad about it. Brydee was happy that she had chosen him of all people to take care of it, he’d be a good asset.  
“Don’t apologize, I was just trying to do a nice thing without anyone knowing, it’s not a big deal.” Brydee assured him.  
“Right well she’s all good and new. Take care.” He said, handing her back the keys.  
“You too and if I ever need a plumber I’ll be sure to give you a call.” She yelled out after him.  
“You beauty!” She heard him exclaim. Brydee smiled, the folk of Summer Bay were peculiar people.  
“So, I see you bought and installed a new pump.” Alf stated. Brydee couldn’t read his tone.  
“Before you say anything, I’m incredibly smart with my money. I am making more than enough to live comfortably and I live with you rent free so it was the least I could do. Plus he gave me a good price on the account that I offered him more work if I ever needed it when my team sets up shop here.” Brydee explained.  
“How much are we talking?” Alf asked.  
“A grand. He said labour would usually be another 750 and I did some research and it seemed reasonable. He seemed reasonable.” Brydee stated. She watched Alf’s jaw slack.  
“That is more than reasonable. Well done.” He said proudly.  
“Good, so can we keep this between us?” She asked. He looked at her, confusion written on his face.  
“Why didn’t you want us to know?” Alf asked.  
“People make a big deal about money and while I understand why, I’m in a position where I can afford it so it shouldn’t matter. I just wanted to avoid all the nagging that comes with it.” Brydee said truthfully.  
“I understand I do, but we don’t keep secrets.” Alf stated. Brydee sighed.  
“Fine, just give me a chance to leave the house before you tell them.” Brydee sulked.

Brydee had decided to walk to Salt, she didn’t want to stick around for the fallout of her good deed, she had a bad feeling Roo wasn’t going to take her gesture well. As she reached the Surf Club she grabbed a hold of the wall to steady herself, she underestimated just how weak she was still.  
“Please tell me you didn’t walk here from home?” Brydee sighed, of course Willow found her like this.  
“I’m fine, I just wanted some fresh air.” Brydee played it off.  
“Okay well call me and I would have met up with you, you aren’t ready to go gallivanting around the place.” Willow chastised.  
“Willow Harris is that a big word I heard?” Brydee teased.  
“Tease me all you like, you’ll pay for it during our sessions.” Willow stated. Brydee snickered.  
“Sorry, can’t help myself.” Brydee said.  
“Mhm. Want to tell me why you’re here?” Willow questioned.  
“I fixed the pump and Alf found out and so naturally he has to tell everyone and I just didn’t want to be there for the nagging.” Brydee explained, shrugging.  
“Awfully nice of you.” Willow pointed out.  
“Yeah well I’m living there rent free and I owe them for looking after me.” Brydee admitted.  
“I get that.” Willow said, nodding.  
“Care for a bite? My shout.” Brydee offered.  
“Oh you know I’m always up for a free meal.” Willow agreed, grinning from ear to ear.


	65. Chapter 65

“So how are you enjoying being out of hospital?” Willow asked, they had finished up their meals and decided it wouldn’t hurt to have a couple of bevs.  
“You don’t realize the hospital has a distinct chemical smell until you are well away from it. The sea breeze is to die for.” Brydee said, admiring the view.  
“I remember that feeling well.” Willow said.  
“You were lucky you know, a few inches lower and it would have killed you.” Brydee pointed out, referring to the bullet wound she received from Ross.  
“I know. I’m just glad he can’t hurt anyone else.” Willow stated.  
“I’ll drink to that.” Brydee raised her glass for Willow to clink hers against.  
“Cheers.” Willow said as they threw back the rest of the glass.  
“I’ll go get us another round.” Brydee said. Willow handed her glass over to her.  
“Well if you’re offering.” Willow smirked. Brydee chuckled, she made her way to the bar where Ryder was waiting to serve her.  
“Another round?” He asked.  
“Thanks.” She replied. She watched the joyful smile on his face sink in an instant, she turned around and saw Roo heading straight for her.  
“We need to talk.” Roo said pointedly. Brydee decided it was safer if she tried to keep the conversation happening at Salt.  
“Okay, talk.” She tried her best to not sound rude but it seemed to anger Roo anyway.  
Roo crossed her arms. “Do you want to explain the pump?” She asked.  
“Sure, it needed replacing so I got Geoff to replace it. Lovely guy by the way.” Brydee said.  
“Don’t act coy with me.” Roo said sternly.  
“I’m not sure what you want from me? Alf couldn’t afford to fix it and people were threatening to not pay rent if there were any more issues, you heard Ryder. It was bad, I’m betting the caravan park is where most of Alf’s income is from and I’m living there rent free so I owed him one. I was able to fix the problem, it’s no big deal.” Brydee explained, shrugging.  
“It is a big deal. You can’t just go throwing around that kind of money.” Roo said sternly.  
“Why not? Rent free remember? And I’m a high ranking officer, trust me Roo I’m well off.” Brydee said with a glint of humor in her voice, to anyone who didn't know Brydee well she might have sounded cocky.  
“That’s not the point.” Roo said.  
“Then what is the point?! Please explain because it shouldn’t be an issue.” Brydee had raised her voice as well now, multiple people were watching.  
“The point is you can’t just go and do things without discussing them with us first. Dad, Ryder and I would have figured it out as a family. We always do!” Roo shouted. Brydee flinched before turning to Ryder to give him the cash for the drink. She refused to let anyone see how much Roo's words had hurt her.  
“Take those over to Willow, I’m done here.” Brydee said. Ryder stood frozen, the tone of Brydee’s voice had shaken him slightly. She had sounded emotionless. Brydee turned and walked out, Roo had tried to say something to her but she had blocked her out. She needed to get out.

Brydee had made it to the beach, she sat down and let her emotions take over. She should have known it had been too good to be true, she thought she was part of their family but clearly she wasn’t.  
“Is it okay if I sit?” Willow asked from behind her. Brydee jumped at the sudden voice, she mentally chastised herself for being so jumpy today, she nodded anyway.  
“You okay?” She continued to ask. Brydee shrugged.  
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Brydee said, finally trusting her voice. Willow sighed.  
“People get set in their ways, you didn’t do anything wrong. I think Roo would have rather you all discuss it first, she shouldn’t have gone off like she did though.” Willow stated.  
“I was trying to do something nice, families do that right? If they can they do nice things for each other. Alf was stressing about it and I could fix it, I didn’t think. No actually I thought too much. I thought...” Brydee trailed off.  
“Thought what?” Willow asked.  
“It doesn’t matter. Do you think you could drive me back to the Stewart’s?” She asked Willow. She had been about to say home but stopped herself.  
“Yeah of course.” Willow agreed. 

The ride over had been fairly quiet, Brydee answered when Willow talked to her but if she wasn't prompted Brydee stayed silent. The silence didn't worry Willow, her and Brydee had known each other long enough for silence to be calming but right now it didn't feel calming, the air felt thick with tension and Willow was sure a million thoughts were running through Brydee's head, those thoughts were what worried Willow.  
“Want me to come inside?” Willow asked gently.  
“No, thanks for the lift though.” Brydee said politely.  
“Any time, call me if you need me okay?” Willow said hurriedly, Brydee was already out the car door and making a beeline for the house. Willow wanted nothing more than to stay with her but she knew Brydee needed her space.  
“I will.” Brydee called back.  
Brydee made her way inside. She started packing all her things, she was thankful she hadn’t pulled too much out of the bags they brought home from the hospital, it made things much easier. Her phone started ringing, as if on cue she thought.  
“Dad.” She said as she answered.  
“Hey kiddo, I’m back in the Bay. It’s been a hell of a few days and I hear you’ve escaped, want to catch up for dinner?” He asked.  
“Actually, could you come around to the Stewart’s?” She asked.  
“Yeah of course, I’ll be there shortly.” He agreed.  
Bentley wasn’t sure what he expected when he got there but Brydee storming out with a bunch of bags was not it.  
“Hey, what’s going on?” He asked.  
“Nothing, moving out. Can I crash with you?” She asked.  
“Sure, I’m staying in a one bedroom so I hope you like being cram-” He was saying.  
“Cool.” She said cutting him off, she went to retrieve the rest of her things.  
“Brydee, slow down, talk to me. What happened?” He asked.  
“Nothing happened, I’m just not wanted.” She stated. The ease of her words flowing out startled him, it wasn't like a child chucking a tantrum, she actually believed she wasn't wanted.  
“I find that hard to believe, they’ve all been worried sick about you.” He explained. Brydee ignored him. He sighed and pulled out his phone.  
“Bentley, I’m glad you called, Brydee-”  
“Is at your place, throwing all her things in my car. She’s moving out apparently.” He said with confusion and a hint of mockery.  
“Wait she’s what?” Roo asked just as confused.  
“I don’t know she asked for me to meet her here and then she started throwing stuff in my car, she said she wasn’t wanted.” He explained. He tried not to say it through grit teeth, the last thing he wanted was to offend Roo but seeing Brydee so defeated had left him feeling angry and shocked.  
“That, that isn’t what I meant. I’m sorry I’ll be there shortly.” Roo promised.

“Willow!” Roo called out to her. Willow sighed, she wasn’t sure if she was in the mood for whatever Roo was about to say to her, she clearly had no idea the hurt she had caused.  
“What?” She asked, she hadn’t meant for it to sound as rude as it came out. She watched Roo flinch. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”  
“No, it’s okay. Bentley just called and said Brydee was leaving and that she didn’t feel wanted anymore. Do you have any idea what happened?” Roo asked.  
“You yelled at Brydee in front of everyone for helping you out, is what happened.” Willow said. She couldn’t help the venom that oozed into her words.  
“She can’t just go spending a thousand dollars on us without discussing things first.” Roo huffed.  
“Look at it from her point of view, she’s living with you rent free when she’d probably be spending hundreds of bucks a week easy on rent elsewhere. She was returning the favour and you threw it back in her face. Oh and you reminded her she isn’t your family.” Willow pointed out.  
“Wait what?” Roo asked, confused.  
“I’m just speculating by what little she actually said but “Dad, Ryder and I would have figured it out, as a family.” Is probably where her head is at. You didn’t include her and you’ve probably made her feel as though she isn’t part of your family. She was just doing something nice for you all after everything you have done for her.” Willow explained. Realization hit Roo like a truck.  
“I didn’t mean for it to sound like that.” Roo defended.  
“It’s not me you need to tell that to.” Willow pointed out.  
“You’re right.” Roo said as she ran out the door. She called Bentley and asked him not to leave until she could speak with Brydee first.

Roo pulled up next to Bentley’s car.  
“Where is she?” She asked him.  
“Upstairs, I think in her room.” He informed her. She made her way the Brydee’s room, she didn’t notice Bentley following close behind her.  
“Brydee?” She asked. She opened the door and the young woman was stood with her arms crossed, glaring at her slightly.  
“I know you’re angry.” Roo said.  
“I’m not angry.” Brydee pointed out.  
“Okay, angry might not have been the right word. Sit, we need to talk.” Roo said.  
“I’d rather not. Can you tell dad he can leave now seeing as he needs your permission to do so.” Brydee said sarcastically.  
“You’re hurt.” Roo pointed out. With every word the woman said Brydee felt anger fill her.  
“You know you shouldn’t assume things. It leaves you open to be sorely disappointed.” Brydee glowered.  
“Disappointed. In me or in yourself?” Roo asked.  
“What are you talking about?!” Brydee threw back. She wasn’t about to play mind games.  
“I hurt you earlier. I didn’t intend to, my words came out wrong and I didn’t realize the implication of what I said.” Roo explained. Brydee huffed, she was laughing. It was either that or cry and Brydee refused to show the woman weakness after she took her trust and threw it out the window earlier.  
“Talk to me.” Roo said.  
“Why? I clearly don’t matter to you.” Brydee spat.  
“Yes you do. You’re part of this family. When I said about figuring it out I meant all of us, I’m sorry. I didn’t even group mum in because I’m just not used to saying her name. It’s been dad Ryder and I for a while now and those are just the words I chose. You’re my family too. You had me worried sick when you got hurt. I love you like you are my own Brydee, I never meant for you to think anything less than that. I was flustered over the fact that you spent a thousand dollars on a pump without talking to us first.” Roo explained.  
“I was just doing something nice, families do that for each other.” Brydee said, she tried to keep the emotion out of her voice.  
“Families also discuss things first. If we had of talked first we could have figured out a way to pay you back-”  
“I don’t want you to pay me back.” Brydee stated.  
“Okay, okay. As long as in the future you talk to us first maybe we can agree to move past this?” Roo suggested. Brydee nodded, unable to speak.  
“Come here.” Roo said as she hugged her. “You are family Brydee, never forget that. Please come to me and speak to me next time before you do something rash.” Roo said as she held her. Brydee moved to put her arms around the older woman, hugging her back.  
“Okay, I’m sorry.” She said into her shoulder.  
“What do you mean you spent a thousand dollars?” Bentley said from the doorway. Roo had forgotten he was listening in.  
“Uhhh, I can explain.” Brydee said before she sidestepped him in the doorway and made a run for it before yelling “YEET” at the top of her lungs. Bentley sighed and chuckled along with Roo.  
“What in the heck is a yeet?” She asked.


	66. Chapter 66

Alex woke up earlier than usual, her body not recognising that it was her day off so she hadn’t needed to get up. It had been a couple of days since Brydee had been discharged, she hadn’t seen her since and Alex was feeling her absence. She had her morning coffee and decided she would make a house call and check on Brydee. On the drive over Alex had to keep telling herself it wasn’t completely insane for a doctor to go and check in on a recently discharged patient but Alex knew deep down it wasn’t protocol. She made her way to the front door of the Stewrart’s house and knocked. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous. The door opened to a yawning disheveled Brydee, she was wearing different pyjamas to what Alex had gotten used to.  
“Alex, hey. What are you doing here?” Brydee asked, she yawned and stretched.  
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have come over it’s way too early and I-”  
Brydee chuckled. “Alex it’s okay, I woke up earlier and couldn’t get back to sleep so I came downstairs to watch some of the stuff Roo bought me and I must have fallen back to sleep. Come in, would you like a cuppa?” Brydee asked.  
“Sure, thanks.” Alex said sheepishly.  
“Seriously Alex, stop fretting.” Brydee asked. Alex smiled shyly at her.  
“What are you watching?” Alex asked.  
“Er, it was a superhero movie. I can’t remember which one exactly, to be honest I can’t keep up with them. I’m fairly keen on starting Buffy The Vampire Slayer again, it’s so good.” Brydee said cheerfully.  
“I’ve never seen it.” Alex admitted.  
“You’ve what?! Alex Neilson! How on earth can you be a queer woman and have not seen it! This is blasphemy. We need to change this immediately.” Brydee exclaimed.  
“Okay well, I actually have the day off if you want to start watching it?” Alex suggested.  
“Yes! Wait, we need junk food! Wait, what’s the time?” Brydee asked excitedly.  
“It’s just after 7.” Alex informed.  
“Oh, maybe not junk just yet.” Brydee said sadly.  
“How about we get our hot drinks and then when it gets later we can come back to junk food.” Alex offered.  
“When it gets later or when my stomach starts grumbling. Whichever comes first, I assume my stomach, it will be very loud and obnoxious.” Brydee clarified with a smile.  
Alex chuckled. “Okay well at least that’s a sure fire way we won’t forget to get food.” Alex pointed out.  
“Oh Alex, I would never forget about food. Food is everything.” Brydee stated.  
“Can you cook?” Alex asked.  
“Can I cook? Yes. Is it amazing? No. But it’s gotten me this far. I assume you are a wonderful cook but don’t have the time to actually cook.” Brydee assumed with a questioning smirk.  
“Yeah, Doctors and cooking aren’t the best of friends but when I get the opportunity I am alright at it. Since moving to Summer Bay I have definitely eaten out way more than usual, it’s so much easier and sometimes even healthy.” Alex said.  
“Ahuh, fish and chips is not healthy but if that’s what gets you through your long and gruesome shifts, so be it.” Brydee said cheekily.  
“Right, remind me of fish and chips not being healthy later when we indulge in junk food will you.” Alex teased. Brydee scrunched up her face in a mocking manner, causing Alex to laugh.  
“So this first season is kind of a struggle to get through, it isn’t the HD version because they butchered it and Roo was smart enough to get the original version. But that means it isn’t very high quality but bear with me, it gets so much better.” Brydee said excitedly. Alex smiled at the woman’s excitement.

“I laugh in the face of danger! Then.. I hide until it goes away.” Xander said on the tv. Alex burst out laughing. Brydee was enjoying watching Alex’s reactions to everything.  
“That’s me.” Alex stated through her laughter.  
“I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be foolish enough to laugh in the face of danger Alex. Hiding from it, sure.” Brydee teased.  
“You know when you were hurt.. There was a moment where I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak. I assumed I would always go straight into action when the moment called for it but I didn’t.” Alex admitted. The tone had shifted their conversation.  
“You know we have the emergency call right? Alex, you handled it well. The only reason I could tell you weren’t okay is because I know you. To everyone else who heard it, you were commanding and in charge. You got me to the hospital safely, if you hadn't acted when you did I would have been in worse shape. I know it probably doesn’t feel like it to you but to everyone else Alex, you were a hero. You saved me.” Brydee told her.  
“You... you heard the phone call?” Alex asked, Brydee heard pain in her voice.  
“Yes, we had to. The paramedics gave statements and we had to follow up, the call being included. I’m sorry for not telling you until now but I thought it best if I didn’t bring it up.” Brydee explained.  
“Don’t be sorry, I understand. I just can’t help feeling embarrassed, I can’t even remember the phone call.” Alex said softly.  
“You were brave and strong and if it weren’t for the fact that you’re the biggest nerd I know I’d assume you were a Gryffindor not a Ravenclaw.” Brydee teased.  
“Blue looks better on me than red.” Alex joked.  
“I bet any colour looks good on you.” Brydee joked back. Alex smiled shyly, Brydee’s stomach took this moment to start grumbling. They both laughed.  
“I told you, loud and obnoxious.” Brydee said.  
“Come on, let’s go and get some food.” Alex suggested.  
“It’s still early enough to go and grab breakfast?” Brydee asked.  
“I thought we were going to indulge in junk food.” Alex pointed out.  
“Oh we will but after I’ve had a sustainable breakfast. My shout.” Brydee offered.  
“You know it’s not often a Doctor gets shouted a free meal. Usually we are the ones paying.” Alex chuckled.  
“I swear if Willow never took you out I will have words with her.” Brydee low key threatened.  
Alex tried to hide her amusement.  
“Well she is on a lower salary than me-”  
Brydee shook her head and started making tsk noises.  
“What about home cooked breakfast in bed? Picnic?” Brydee asked, Alex shook her head.  
“I need to teach that girl some moves, jeez.” Brydee said, appalled.  
“In Willow’s defence I definitely took on the more-”  
“You can wear the pants all you like but don’t tell me a big burly man wouldn’t appreciate a woman taking him out and spoiling him every now and again. Ludicrousy.” Brydee stated. Alex laughed at the image in her head.  
“Okay you have a point, it would be nice to be spoiled but it’s just as much fun for me to do the spoiling so it was a win win.” Alex stated.  
“Your ex before Willow, did she-” Alex basically snorted, causing Brydee to burst into tears.  
“I take that as a no.” Brydee concluded.  
“By the end we were so out of love we never did anything nice for each other.” Alex explained.  
“Ah, I’m sorry. I once took Lance out to one of the indy races and we ate so many wings. He never shut up about how it was one of the best days of his life.” Brydee said, her smile wavered slightly.  
“I bet your ears hated you for that.” Alex teased.  
“Yep, we were yelling the whole trip home trying to hear one another. It’s weird, when I think of Lance I think of an old friend. He was my fiance, it should feel different to an old friend right?” Brydee asked.  
“Not necessarily. People grieve in their own ways, if it makes it easier on you than what should it matter?” Alex offered back.  
“You’re right. I guess it is a little easier looking back on him like that. The thought of our future together and being ripped away is just too painful.” Brydee admitted. Alex felt guilty, she was enjoying herself so much and her feelings for Brydee had grown more and more and she had completely forgotten Brydee was still grieving, she felt like an idiot.  
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Brydee asked.  
“How is it that you can always tell when something is wrong?” Alex tried to deflect.  
“Well I’m just that good, I also can tell that you’re trying to deflect. You can talk to me, you know.” Brydee offered.  
“I know, it’s complicated is all. Part of me feels horrible that you lost Lance and another part of me wonders what would have happened if he didn’t die. I probably would have never met you. I know that’s so selfish to think about…” Alex trailed off.  
“No, it isn’t selfish. I think about it too, sometimes. You and Willow being in my life again, I just don’t know if that would have happened when my life was happy and wonderful with Lance. I’d give anything to have him back but I wouldn’t want to lose either of you, nor my family here. Life is weird, fate is weird. The thing is, is I’m sure Lance would be okay with me thinking those things. He was incredibly understanding, I mean he had to be, he was engaged to me.” Brydee chuckled.  
“You think he’d be okay with talking about what ifs? Even if those what ifs were about his death?” Alex asked, curious.  
“Yeah, we talked openly a lot about a bunch of things. He would have found it as intriguing as I do. Losing my fiance to find a family and a bunch of friends, it’s crazy and he would have definitely been intrigued by it. He liked to shock people a lot, I guess people just assumed he was just like any other guy but he wasn’t. He was kind and humble and so supportive.” Brydee smiled, reminiscing on her past love.  
“It sucks that you couldn’t have both.” Alex said honestly.  
“It does, I know Willow met him and she liked him but you would have too. Him and Robbo were unstoppable. I’m sure Roo would have loved him. I know the world has always been against me but I have this weird feeling things will start getting better, I do have a loving and supportive family now. Things are already looking up for me.” Brydee said confidently.  
“I’m glad you have something positive to take away from everything. You’re truly the strongest person I’ve ever met, yet somehow the most gentlest.” Alex said.  
“You think I’m gentle? Clearly you haven’t seen me in a fight.” Brydee teased.  
“You can’t tell me you don’t have a kind heart.” Alex said seriously.  
“Some days it doesn’t feel like it but I know what you mean. You wouldn’t believe how many times my gentle nature as you would put it, has gotten my team out of tight spots. Kids are the craziest types of humans, they tend to just know who is good and bad. I was once in an air vent and the kid we were in there to rescue saw me and just decided to follow me back through the air vents. It helped that the people who took him had guns and were and I quote “Mean to me, they ripped up my drawing.” Who even rips up a child's drawing? I’d follow me too if those were my choices.” Brydee said nonchalantly. Alex was thrown at how easily the words slipped out of Brydee’s mouth.  
“You say it so casually like you aren’t even acknowledging you saved the child's life.” Alex said.  
“Well, I guess you would talk the same about patients right? You could be holding a man's heart in your hand and you probably wouldn’t bat an eye. It’s just what we do.” Brydee explained.  
“Hm, I see what you mean. It’s just so weird being on the other end for once. It must be rewarding, I know how it feels to save a life so you can’t lie to me.” Alex teased.  
“Of course, it probably makes it more rewarding seeing as they’re kids. Getting them home safe is the best part. Now you’re making me miss it.” Brydee chuckled.  
“Oh I am sooo sorry for making you miss something that is incredibly important to you.” Alex said sarcastically.  
“Can I be honest?” Brydee asked. Alex noticed the serious tone to her voice. She nodded.  
“Of course you can.” Alex said.  
“I miss the way it challenges my brain, don’t get me wrong I miss saving kids lives of course I do but figuring out the case, it’s a feeling like no other and I miss that more than anything.” Brydee admitted.  
“Oh I completely get that. When a patient comes in with a medical mystery, solving it is incredibly rewarding. It’s a bonus to see them go home fully healed. So yeah, I get you on that.” Alex agreed. Brydee smiled brightly at her, it was nice to talk about it all with someone who really understood it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delays in uploading, I lost a loved one recently and life has just tipped me on my head. On top of that this new storyline on home and away which I have only had a brief glance at has thrown me a little. I have so much I want to say but I don't think now is the time or place. I will continue to upload just bear with me as it might be few and far between during this time. Take care of yourselves.


	67. Chapter 67

“I should get dressed at some point.” Brydee announced whilst looking down at herself.  
“No I definitely think you should go out wearing that.” Alex joked. Brydee looked herself over.  
“You know what you might be right, I could start a new trend.” Brydee said confidently, she grinned at Alex.  
“Pyjamas all day every day? Sign me up.” Alex played along. Brydee’s eyes bulged just before she started laughing hysterically.  
“Okay but that could be problematic for those who don’t wear pyjamas at all. It would give a whole new meaning to picture everyone naked.” Brydee said, chuckling to herself.  
“You do know that starting a trend doesn’t mean people magically start following it right? No one will be forced to wear their pyjamas.” Alex couldn’t help the smirk on her face once she watched Brydee’s face fall.  
“Damn, here I was thinking I was about to rule the world through pyjamas.” She said disappointingly.  
“Don’t give up hope, if anyone could do it, you can.” Alex stated. Brydee smiled shyly at Alex’s statement, Alex forgot for a moment that Brydee took compliments just as badly as she did. She watched Brydee start to fidget. Alex decided to change the subject.  
“Right, food?” Alex asked.  
“Yes! Salt?” Brydee asked excitedly.  
“Okay but I’m driving us there, I don’t want you pushing yourself by walking.” Alex said.  
“Fine by me Doc.” Brydee said as she made her way out to the car.  
“Oh and you aren’t paying.” Alex stated.  
“Yes I am. Let’s call it a thank you for everything you’ve done for me and my family these past few weeks, we owe you. Please?” Brydee gave her puppy dog eyes.  
“That’s cheating.” Alex said to her puppy dog eyes.  
“I know but you seem to fall for it every time, I can’t help myself.” Brydee teased. They had gotten in Alex’s car and started making their way down to Salt.  
“Alright fine, just for that I am going to buy the most expensive thing on the menu.” Alex huffed.  
“I’ll let you assume you’ve won but I really don’t mind.” Brydee said, she let Alex win just enough for her not to be able to argue back.  
“Is that a cop thing?” Alex asked.  
Brydee laughed. “It’s a tactic that can be used, yes. Although usually we don’t give ourselves away but that wouldn’t have been fair on you. See if I admit to doing it I’m “cute” and “adorable” but if I was to do it and not tell you I’m “Vindictive” and an “asshole” so..” Brydee trailed off.  
“Hey, at least you’re admitting to being cute and adorable.” Alex teased.  
“That so isn’t what you were supposed to take away from that.” Brydee laughed.  
“I’m guessing someone called you those things?” Alex asked.  
“Back in the academy, part of the reason why I think I denied my parentage for so long was because I excelled. I just got it, I assume that’s how you feel with medicine. When you get it you get it and I just loved it all and I learnt things way faster than my peers and some of them were annoyed by that. So you can imagine how they would have taken things if they found out the Lieutenant that brought me in was my dad. They were already jealous enough, I didn’t need that on top of everything. I earned my place and I didn’t need anyone questioning it.” Brydee stated.  
“People can be so cruel, I hope you are proud of everything you have achieved because you’re right. You earned everything.” Alex stated. Brydee blushed slightly, she was glad Alex was driving so she couldn’t get a good look at her face. She heard Alex chuckle.  
“What?” Brydee asked.  
“Watching you try and take a compliment, it’s fairly amusing.” Alex said honestly.  
“Watch yourself Doctor Alex, I can compliment you and fluster you if you aren’t careful.” Brydee stated. Alex laughed along with her. Alex sighed in content as she looked out onto the beach from the carpark.  
“I don’t think I could ever get sick of that view.” Alex said cheerfully.  
“I know what you mean.” Brydee agreed.

“Brydee!” Mac exclaimed.  
“Mac, hey.” Brydee greeted her.  
“God it’s been forever, how are you feeling? I heard about the fight with Roo the other day, yikes.” Mac said while chuckling to herself.  
“Fight?” Alex asked.  
“Uh, I’ll explain later.” Brydee said. “I’m doing much better, it’s good to see you. I missed you.” Brydee admitted.  
“I missed you too, you dork.” Mac said as she pulled Brydee into a hug. “Sorry for not visiting often, this place has kept me busy lately.” Mac apologized.  
“It’s okay, really.” Brydee said.  
“So, here for breakfast?” Mac asked.  
“Yes, here take this. Don’t let Alex pay for a thing.” Brydee said, handing over her card. She watched Alex start to protest, she realized there wasn’t much she could do now, Brydee had beaten her to it.  
“Noted. I’ll have someone come over to you shortly.” Mac said politely.  
“You think you’re so smooth Brydee Devin.” Alex mocked.  
“I’m a cop, we know how to bribe people.” Brydee shrugged.  
“That doesn’t sound shady at all.” Alex laughed.  
“Me, shady? Never.” Brydee joked. They had sat down at the middle booth, it was fairly quiet so they didn’t feel too bad about taking up a bigger table. Usually Brydee went out of her way to not take the booths but Alex was rather convincing.  
“Mac mentioned a fight with Roo?” Alex asked, concern filled her voice.  
“Ah, a bit of a misunderstanding. You know how the pump was giving Alf grief?” Brydee asked.  
“Yeah I remember it being mentioned.” Alex said.  
“Well I decided to get a guy in to look at it and he replaced it for a really good price, even Alf congratulated me on my persuasion skills.” Brydee smirked and chuckled.  
“And Roo didn’t take it well.” Alex summarized.  
“Not particularly. I know I probably should have talked to them first, but I also just wanted to do something nice after all they’ve done for me.” Brydee explained.  
“Naturally.” Alex agreed.  
“Roo came here wanting to talk and things got heated and she said something that I took the wrong way and I sort of had a breakdown which led to me packing my stuff and trying to leave.” Brydee rushed the words out.  
“Are you okay now?” Alex asked sincerely.  
“Yeah, between dad and Willow Roo ended up realizing what had happened and she explained to me she hadn’t meant what she said the way I interpreted it. On the plus side my breakdown kind of forced her to accept the pump replacement.” Brydee stated. She smiled shyly at Alex.  
“I’m guessing whatever it was made you second guess yourself and your place in the family?” Alex correctly guessed. Brydee nodded.  
“It was silly, she left me out of a sentence and it set me off. I was being idiotic.” Brydee said.  
“No you weren’t. These things happen, that’s what being a family is about. Sometimes it’s a mess but ultimately you sort it out and move on and become stronger for it. Unfortunately not all of us have the twin telepathy and bond to pull us together.” Alex said, giving Brydee a knowing smile.  
“I do miss not having someone around who just knows, although you come pretty close. You seem to get me.” Brydee stated nonchalantly. The statement threw Alex off guard a little, she decided to change the subject.  
“So when do you start physio?” Alex asked.  
“Tomorrow, luckily for you, you caught me on the one day I don’t have a bunch of things to do.” Brydee smiled.  
“Very lucky. I’m sorry for imposing, I’ll be honest, I was missing you a little.” Alex admitted. She refused to look Brydee in the eyes.  
“What, only a little?” Brydee teased. She watched Alex smile.  
“I missed you a little too, Alex. Don’t feel bad for gracing me with your presence, I enjoy your company.” Brydee stated. Usually Brydee would shy away from such sentiments but she didn’t, for some reason Alex made her feel comfortable and confident in herself so admitting that she enjoyed spending time with her didn’t strike her as embarrassing.  
“Well I’m glad I wasn’t imposing.” Alex said quietly. She looked up to finally meet Brydee’s eyes, she expected to see Brydee’s usual tenderness in her eyes but instead she found worry and anger, Alex realized she wasn’t looking at her though, she followed her line of view and saw Bella standing in the entrance.


	68. Chapter 68

“Out! Now. You aren’t welcome here.” Mac practically yelled at Bella. Alex was glad Mac had seen Bella before they had because she could feel the anger bubbling in her, she hadn’t seen Bella at all since that first day in the hospital. She felt a soft hand touch hers gently, she turned back around, confused, to see Brydee’s hand on top of hers. She realized that her hand was balled into a fist, Alex couldn’t hide her anger from Brydee.  
“It’s okay.” Brydee tried to reassure Alex.  
“I feel so angry.” Alex said quietly.  
“I know. She won’t hurt you, I promise.” Brydee spoke slowly and clearly. Alex laughed which caused Brydee to tilt her head in confusion.  
“It’s not me I’m worried about.” Alex clarified.  
“She got the jump on me, I was foolish to turn my back on her. I won’t make that mistake again. Plus, she’s already gone.” Brydee explained while nodding towards the door. Alex looked back around, all she saw was Mac’s back. It looked as though Mac was shaking, she was clearly overwhelmed as well.  
“We should check on her.” Alex said. Brydee nodded and got up.  
“Mac?” Brydee asked softly.  
“What? Oh, sorry. I was-” Mac didn’t know how to explain.  
“It’s okay, I know how you feel. Why don’t we sit, have a drink.” Alex suggested.  
“I can’t believe she had the audacity of coming here. I told Colby she was not welcome here.” Mac said, sounding rather annoyed.  
“Because of me?” Brydee asked, confused and slightly guiltily.  
“While that definitely adds to it, no. She tried to burn my restaurant down, I won’t tolerate that behaviour. She’s lucky I’m not pressing charges.” Mac huffed. Brydee looked towards the ground in shame. Mac sighed.  
“You knew?” Mac asked her. Brydee looked to Alex, unsure of what she should say.  
“It’s okay Brydee, I was the one who told Mac. I was distraught in the ambulance and blurted it out, I was sick of keeping secrets.” Alex admitted.  
“Alex and I were talking in her office, Bella completely jumped the gun and started yelling and carrying on.” Brydee said, she looked at Alex again.  
“I had a panic attack due to her scaring us and it just sort of slipped out.” Alex explained.  
“When I came and got you that day, to check on Colby? I told him, after Bella had threatened me. He needed to know. I’m sorry for not telling you Mac I really am, it was a whole mess and while I tried to save what little credit I had left with Willow I should have had more respect for you and told you.” Brydee apologized.  
“Thank you. It means more than you’ll know that you had the gall to apologize but don’t sweat on it, none of it was your fault, you merely found out at a later date, same as Alex. It’s Dean and Willow I’m angry with.” Mac informed them.  
“I can’t blame you there, I don’t understand why they didn’t tell Colby at the very least. Maybe Bella would have got the help she needed and my hospital trip could have been avoided.” Brydee speculated.  
“She has a hold on Colby that I don’t quite understand.” Mac said suspiciously.  
“They’ve been through hell and back.” Brydee shrugged. Alex noticed Brydee glance at her for a split second. Alex had this feeling in the back of her mind that whatever Mac was suspicious over was exactly what Willow and Brydee had been discussing in the hospital. Brydee had Colby, Willow and Dean acquitted for something and Bella seemed to have a hold over her big brother, Alex was almost positive the two were connected. If it was a serious crime like the heated discussion between Willow and Brydee implied, that would explain a lot. There had always been something Willow had kept from her but she trusted Willow enough to know it was probably for the best but now it just perked Alex’s curiosity more, and Brydee knew it.  
“I think it’s more than that.” Mac said, shaking her head. Brydee sighed.  
“Even if it was, nothing good would come from finding out, trust me. You never got to meet Ross, Bella’s dad. The guy was vile and cruel, that whole family was heavily impacted by his influence. I’m just hoping Bella is young and willing enough to change, no one deserves to be like him.” Brydee said with a shudder. Mac took in Brydee’s words while Alex contemplated just what Willow and Brydee went through as kids.  
“Sorry, I never ended up getting your order-” Mac said in a panic, she flurried back up to the bar to get her tablet.  
“I’ll just have bacon and eggs, thanks Mac.” Brydee told her.  
“And for you, Alex? If it’s Brydee’s shout I suggest the French Toast with the extra sides.” Mac said, smiling sweetly at Brydee. Alex chuckled and looked at Brydee who gave her an encouraging look, she really didn’t mind.  
“Okay, sure I’ll get that.” Alex said, trying to hold back her smile.  
“Sounds delicious.” Brydee remarked.  
“Here’s hoping. You know you can’t avoid the question forever right?” Alex asked.  
Brydee gave her a quizzical look. “Avoid which question?” She asked.  
“The question which connects Mac’s suspicions and the discussion I witnessed between you and Willow in hospital, about a certain case.” Alex said cryptically. Realization dawned on Brydee, she nodded.  
“Not here.” Brydee said quietly, her tone caught Alex off guard. Alex had expected to be shot down but she had a feeling Brydee might be willing to talk.  
“But you will explain?” Alex questioned quietly.  
“Of course I will. Alex I trust you with my life and I know you would never intentionally hurt Willow.” Brydee stated.  
“You trust me more than Willow does.” Alex said sadly.  
“No I don’t. She lives more by the family code is all, just like with Bella. She had to put Bella first because it’s all she’s known. I’m in no way excusing Willow’s behaviour. She’s only ever had Colby, Dean and now Bella, breaking that habit is hard and they are all ride or die. They know the lengths they’ll go for each other, bringing someone else into that mix can be scary, it isn’t Willow’s “secret” to tell which is why she never did tell you. If it was specifically hers she would have but the consequences weren’t as dire on her with this.” Brydee explained. Alex nodded in understanding.  
“The family dynamic can be full on sometimes.” Alex admitted quietly.  
“Don’t I know it. With time they’ll open up more to other people and it will subside a little bit but you can’t blame them for sticking together. Mangrove River forces the worst and best out of people. Jai died for Colby, for Bella. It wasn’t intentional but it happened and I know my big brother, he would do it all again for Colby. They were brothers.” Brydee admitted softly. Alex reached out and took Brydee’s hand, Brydee had teared up a little towards the end of her sentence.  
“Jai was ride or die, we all were but he never let me put myself in harm's way. He always protected me and I didn’t do the same for him. I always thought we would go down together. Sometimes, when I’ve been in bad situations, I swear I can feel him watching over me, taking bullets that should have hit me.” Brydee admitted, she used her spare hand to wipe her eyes.  
“God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to become such a mess.” Brydee continued with a sniffle.  
“Don’t apologize. I’m honoured you feel comfortable enough to open up to me about this. From what I know of Jai I’m pretty sure you’re right, he sounds like the kind of brother who would protect you, even in death. Sorry, that didn’t mean to sound so grim.” Alex said.  
“No it’s okay I know what you mean. I think so too.” Brydee agreed. She watched Alex's eyes bulge a second before she heard Mac chuckle.  
“Here we go,” Mac said as she brought over their food.  
“Thank you Mac, it looks delicious.” Alex said, Brydee was trying to dry her eyes. Mac sensed the conversation was delicate so she didn’t linger.  
“Enjoy.” She said before leaving them to eat.  
“So doctor Alex, let’s see how much you get through of that.” Brydee said, laughing at just how much food was on Alex’s plate. Alex hadn't realized just how many sides there were to order.  
“I think Mackenzie played us.” Alex stated with a smile.  
“She’s a business woman through and through, don’t worry, I’ll help you.” Brydee promised.


	69. Chapter 69

“Care for a walk along the beach?” Alex asked Brydee.  
“I’d love that.” Brydee said cheerfully. They made their way down the stairs of Salt, Brydee had this feeling Bella might have lingered. She hoped for Bella’s sake she hadn’t, Alex seemed to have harnessed everyone's would be anger for Bella all for herself. Brydee felt bad that the doctor was clearly struggling over her emotions. There was no sign of Bella downstairs thankfully, they continued on down to the beach.  
“You know if you want to talk about Bella we can.” Brydee offered. Alex sighed.  
“I’m not sure what to say. I can’t help how I feel, while I’m glad you’re all trying to get her help I can’t help but feel like she’s just going to get away with nearly destroying your life.” Alex said, she sounded exhausted.  
“Alex, she won’t. She will spend time away, I guarantee you that. It just won’t be a prison cell. They let her have parole because she’s technically still a minor but mainly because Colby promised to keep her on a tight leash.” Brydee explained.  
“Yet he was nowhere to be seen.” Alex pointed out.  
“Good point, I might give him a call.” Brydee said.  
“Can we talk about that other thing now?” Alex asked. Brydee sighed.  
“I know I don’t need to ask you to keep it to yourself but..” Brydee trailed off.  
“I give you my word, I won’t tell a soul.” Alex promised. Brydee took in a deep breath, she looked around her, they were completely alone but she didn’t feel much like having this conversation with the sun striking down on them. She led them over to a spot on the beach that had a nice big shaded tree, she motioned for Alex to sit with her.  
“So you know Willow was kidnapped and shot by Ross a while ago?” Brydee asked her.  
“Yeah it’s been mentioned a few times.” Alex said with a tight smile.  
“The report says Colby and Dean chased him by car and ended up losing him due to Ross shooting out Dean's tire. What really happened was Colby and Dean caught him and from what I gathered for myself and later had confirmed was Ross provoked Colby and Colby snapped and shot him point blank.” Brydee explained, she heard Alex take a sharp intake of breath.  
“We found Ross’s body a while ago, I saw them compiling evidence and eventually they roped Willow in with the charges so I stepped in.” Brydee continued to explain.  
“Why was Willow roped in?” Alex asked  
“Accessory to murder, it was total bullshit and probably why she didn’t tell you. Knowing makes you an accessory, but I’ve had the whole case acquitted so it really doesn’t matter now. Obviously Colby wouldn’t want this getting out though, it does tarnish his good cop image.” Brydee stated.  
“Yeah I can understand why he wouldn’t want anyone knowing, I assume he did it to protect his family, you’ve mentioned Ross not being a nice man..” Alex trailed off.  
“He was cruel, every bad part of Bella is him. I’m glad he’s dead. He would never have let Colby and Bella live in peace and the second that asshole hurt Willow his days were numbered.” Brydee stated in disdain.  
“I’m betting he should be glad Colby did it.” Alex wondered aloud.  
“It was quick, which is more than he deserved. He’s lucky Willow is alright now otherwise I’d drag him back from hell and torture him.” Brydee said hatefully.  
“You talk about him with so much hate yet you don’t with Bella, even after what she did to you.” Alex pointed out softly.  
“While Bella’s actions are her own and she will reap the repercussions, Ross is the reason she is the way she is. She’s needed clinical help for a long time but no one has given it to her. She said in her statement he never hurt her but I’m not sure I believe it.” Brydee said.  
“You think she lied?” Alex asked.  
“Not necessarily. Look at the emotional damage that’s been done, what she believes is the truth may be different from the actual truth. I’ve seen it happen, whether it’s a wall that gets thrown up or blatant memory loss. There’s things, horrible things that not even Colby knows about.” Brydee said quietly. Alex wanted more than anything to ask if that vile man hurt her but she couldn’t bring herself to, she didn’t want to cross a line. Brydee watched Alex’s mind go into overdrive.  
“I’m not sure if it’s my place to talk about everything that happened back then.” Brydee answered what she assumed was on Alex’s mind.  
“Right, sorry. I wasn-”  
“I know, you don’t need to apologize. If it was only me who was involved I would tell you everything, I want to tell you everything. But that isn’t fair on everyone else, especially Colby. He took pride in thinking he was our protector.” Brydee stated softly.  
“Sounds like Colby.” Alex said softly with a small smile.  
“He’s a good guy, his heart has always been in the right place. He’s lucky his wife didn’t dob him in though.” Brydee said.  
“Wife?” Alex asked, confused.  
“Oh yeah, it was in the report.” Brydee chuckled. “They got married and then Ross took Chelsea who was Colby’s wife, Bella and Willow hostage.” Brydee explained. Alex shook her head in disbelief.  
“Willow mentioned being shot but not in this much detail. They really do keep their secrets huh.” Alex stated.  
“Can you blame them? Sure, some secrets, like Bella trying to burn down Salt, those should be told but others not so much. Willow loves you and she trusts you but Colby, he trusted Chelsea and yeah she didn’t dob him in but she left him, she still betrayed their trust. I’d say after that they were all reluctant to open up to anyone new.” Brydee explained.  
“I see where you’re coming from, I just feel like I thought I knew more about Willow than I actually do and the thought hurts a little.” Alex admitted.  
“I’m sorry Alex, if it helps at all Willow has changed and I think that’s mostly to you and maybe to some of the residents here but she’s definitely matured since I last saw her. I know that’s pretty hard to believe after everything, including the outburst that time but she has changed and she will keep changing, I just hope Dean doesn’t try and hold her back.” Brydee admitted quietly.  
“Why do you say that?” Alex asked.  
“Come on, you know what Dean’s like. Willow told me the other day that he once told her people like us don’t get happy endings, sure he was cut up about Ziggy leaving but it’s things like that, that will plant a seed of self doubt in Willow’s mind and it irritates me, he seriously is the worst person for her. Even as a friend his influence is too much.” Brydee huffed. Alex couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face, she enjoyed watching Brydee get protective of Willow.  
“What?” Brydee asked shyly.  
“Nothing, I just enjoy hearing you stick up for her. She needs people like you in her life.” Alex nudged her playfully.  
“She needs people like you too.” Brydee stated. Alex nodded slowly.  
“I don’t plan on going anywhere.” Alex stated.  
“That’s right, Miss hot shot Head of Emergency.” Brydee said playfully. Alex laughed.  
“It feels good, I feel good. Which is weird seeing as the past couple of months have been difficult to say the least but it just feels like the right move for my future.” Alex said confidently.  
“The residents of Summer Bay will be in good hands, once I get back into things we will have an amazing doctor and an amazing squad looking after the place.” Brydee said cheerfully.  
“Did you just praise yourself? Brydee Devin, I never.” Alex mocked, they both laughed.  
“Hey, I’m good at what I do.” Brydee said, shrugging.  
“Part of me wants to see you in action and then another part really doesn’t want to.” Alex shuddered.  
“You think I’ll scare you?” Brydee asked, Alex noticed her voice went slightly higher even though she barely whispered the question.  
“What? No, of course not. It’s just the last time I saw feds in action it was during the siege.” Alex explained.  
“Oh, I’m sorry. Here I am being self obsessed while you’re struggling with trauma, way to go Brydee.” She said sarcastically.  
“Hey, you’d never scare me. I know you’re a softy.” Alex said innocently.  
“For your sake I hope you never have to see me in fed mode, although I’m not sure what we will do from here.” Brydee said more so to herself.  
“What do you mean?” Alex asked.  
“Well like I’ve mentioned my team specializes in Child Abductions. We’ve done a few cases that haven’t involved children but for the most part that’s all we’ve known. I’m not sure that field would be needed here but I guess I’ll need to touch base to see what’s happening and I’m just not there yet.” Brydee admitted.  
“Child abductions sounds so..” Alex trailed off, unsure of where her thoughts were taking her.  
“I know. Child Abduction Rapid Deployment is the official title that’s on my badge. We just use the term CARD, it sounds less abrupt. I don’t think they’ll bring that unit here though, if there’s a case I’m sure we will be assigned but I’m not really sure those resources are beneficial here.” Brydee said.  
“When you asked your dad to look into it for you, did you know that?” Alex asked. Brydee nodded.  
“Yeah but I guess I didn’t think too much about it, I really didn’t have the chance. Not even five minutes later I was in a coma.” Brydee chuckled. Alex gave her a look.  
“Sorry, not funny. It’s circumstantial laughing.” Brydee defended.  
“So you’d be okay no longer being in that field?” Alex asked, Brydee wasn’t sure why she was so interested in the answer.  
“Well in my position I have a little bit more wriggle room, I don’t even know if and when I’ll go back. After Lance… well here I am, I hunted down his murderers and that’s about all I could think about. As much as I’d love to just jump back in where I left off I don’t think I could. But no one is going to say no to a Sergeant wanting to help them on the occasional case so if it’s something I want to go back to the opportunity will always be there. I want to be here, Summer Bay feels like home now and I’m happy just living in the moment right now.” Brydee clarified.  
“Is that your usual?” Alex questioned.  
“Living in the moment?” Brydee asked, Alex nodded.  
“Yes and no? I’m not sure how to honestly answer. I was prepared to build a life with Lance but both our lives and schedules were insane and so we were never really settled, in the moments we were settled though it was nice. I think that’s why I’m eager to stay here, I found a family and I want to belong somewhere but on the other spectrum I’m just letting life set its course for me now, which is new for me. Ever since I joined the feds my life has been pretty much laid out for me, now I’m taking my foot off the accelerator and plan on enjoying things I took for granted.” Brydee explained.  
“I understand how you feel.” Alex said quietly.  
“I like talking to you Alex.” Brydee admitted, Alex looked at her, she was smiling looking out at the ocean.  
“I like talking to you too.” Alex responded. Brydee looked away from the water to Alex, she smiled genuinely at her.  
“Which reminds me, I need to go and talk to someone. Do you mind if I take off?” Brydee asked her. Alex was taken aback by Brydee’s admission, she didn’t want the conversation to end but instead of admitting that, she decided to joke with her.  
“Just after admitting you liked talking to me, harsh.” Alex teased.  
“I’ll have you know the reason I want to go and talk to someone else is that I find myself almost always revealing something I shouldn’t. I want to make sure certain things are okay first.” Brydee explained.  
“Brydee, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t feel comfortable with.” Alex assured her.  
“I know, that’s the point. I do feel comfortable with you and I feel like I could tell you anything.” Brydee admitted. Alex smiled.  
“I’ll make sure not to watch any more episodes of Buffy without you.” Brydee promised.  
Alex laughed. “You better not. Do you need a lift anywhere?” Alex asked kindly.  
“No, thank you though.” Brydee said, she gave Alex’s arm a squeeze before getting up and taking off. Alex was left looking out at the ocean by herself, she wished more than anything to be able to go out there and feel the waves crash against her.


	70. Chapter 70

Brydee made her way up back into the surf club, she bumped into Dean.  
“Hey Brydee, how are you feeling?” He asked, she looked at him confused. It wasn’t like Dean to ask such things.  
“Fine, why?” She asked skeptically.  
“Well you did get hit over the head with a rock. I was worried about you.” He admitted.  
“Funny, I haven’t seen nor heard from you.” She pointed out.  
“Yeah, look I’m sorry. I kept butting heads with everyone and I just felt it best I steer clear.” He explained.  
“Well I’m feeling better, is Willow at the gym?” She asked. She felt partially bad for blowing Dean off but she didn't have the time nor energy to deal with Dean at the moment.  
“Yeah, she is. If you ever need anything..” He trailed off. She sighed.  
“I know Dean, take care yeah?” She offered.  
“Yeah you too.” He said while smiling softly at the ground.

“Will,” Brydee greeted, Willow’s head was buried in the books behind the counter. She looked up quite startled.  
“Oh, hey. What’re you doing here, we don’t have a session until tomorrow. Right?” She asked slightly panicked.  
“Right, I can see you’re already overloaded. Say the word and I’ll help out, Alex did say keeping my brain preoccupied is good for me.” Brydee joked.  
“I might just take you up on that, I’m due for a break though if you needed something?” Willow asked.  
“To talk, privately?” Brydee asked shyly.  
Willow sighed. “Is this about Alex?” She asked.  
“What? No. Why would it be about Alex?” Brydee asked, confused.  
“Oh, I don’t know I just assumed-”  
“It doesn’t matter, it’s private and I get the feeling both of us had maybe blocked it out, I know I had and so..” Brydee couldn’t find the rest of her words. Willow started to realize Brydee was quite serious, she took her into her office.  
“Okay, what’s up?” Willow asked once they sat down. Brydee wasn't sure how exactly to bring such a sensitive subject up, she took a deep breath and decided to listen to her gut.  
“Did you ever tell Colby about that night?” She asked Willow cryptically.  
“Uh, which night exactly?” Willow questioned.  
“The one where Jai’s leg got broken.” Brydee clarified. She watched the blood drain from Willow’s face.  
“I- no. Like you said, I had-” Willow went quiet.  
“Blocked it out.” Brydee said, nodding. She understood.  
“Yeah, why do you want to know?” Willow asked.  
Brydee sighed. “Don’t hate me.” She said. Willow scrunched her face up, unsure of why she would.  
“Alex was putting pieces together about Colby and what we were talking about in hospital. Mac mentioned Bella having a weird hold over him and she had pretty much figured out he did something bad, so I told her. And before you start going off, she can’t be an accessory to murder because the case is non existent now. I just didn’t feel the need to keep it from her, we can trust her Will.” Brydee said confidently.  
“I know,” Willow sighed. “I just wanted to spare her from it all. We are all messed up and she’s not, I didn’t want to scare her off.” Willow admitted with a shrug.  
“Alex may not have had a horrible upbringing but she’s strong, incredibly strong and understanding.” Brydee explained.  
“You’re right, I don’t blame you for telling her. I’m just sorry I couldn’t.” Willow admitted.  
“Hey, you had your reasons. Sometimes this sort of thing is easier coming from somebody who isn’t as close.” Brydee said. Willow huffed and chuckled. Brydee still had no idea that Alex felt strongly for her, Willow couldn’t help but smile softly up at her best friend, she was so pure and oblivious. Willow wondered how she could be after everything she had been through.  
“What are you thinking about?” Brydee asked her.  
“I never really thanked you, or Jai for that matter.” Willow said quietly.  
“You didn’t need to. We would never have let him touch you, Will.” Brydee stated.  
"It's scary to think back on, it makes me feel sick. Do you think-" Willow couldn't finish her sentence.  
"I don't know, it is something I've thought about before but I really just don't know." Brydee admitted, knowing exactly what Willow was asking.  
"When they first found her Colby was shocked at Bella's reaction, Ross had completely manipulated her against him. When she eventually opened up and talked about it she told us that he never hurt her." Willow informed her. Brydee sighed. "That's good, after everything she's gone through you would think if something like that had happened... but then again Bella does keep things close to her chest.." Brydee trailed off in thought. “Do you think we should tell Colby?” Willow asked.  
"I think it might help Colby understand a little more just how horrific Bella's childhood might have been. Ross wasn’t a nice man and he clearly impacted Bella more than Colby or anyone realized. It's entirely up to you though, whatever you want to do I'll be here Willow, every step of the way.” Brydee promised.  
“You’re right, it might help Bella in the long run and that girl needs as much help as she can get, so let’s do it.” Willow agreed.  
“What about Dean?” Brydee questioned.  
“Well we both know he will crack the shits if he finds out from someone else and I assume this got brought up because Alex got close to coaxing it out of you so if she’s going to know, it’ll hurt him if he doesn’t hear it from me.” Willow stated. Brydee chuckled slightly.  
“I wouldn't say coax, it was like out of nowhere this memory started resurfacing and before I knew it I was bailing on Alex and making my way here to talk to you about it. It threw me for sure having that night rush back to me." Brydee said, she took a deep breath before continuing. "Do you think we should just tell them all at the same time?” She asked.  
“I know B." Willow shook her head. "In regards to the boys.. Honestly, it might be easier telling them together. At least Dean and Colby can explode together if that’s how it pans out. I’ll need your help though, there’s blanks I’ve probably pushed from my memory. Do we want Bella knowing?” Willow asked.  
“I think we leave that for Colby to decide.” Brydee said.  
“Okay well how about tonight at 7, we can meet down at the beach. I’ll make sure Colby and Dean are there if you make sure Alex is?” Willow suggested.  
“Are you sure you want her there?” Brydee wanted to make sure.  
“Yeah, with everything that’s been happening lately I just feel like I need to be part of telling her, I don’t mean to-” Willow was saying.  
“Will, you don’t need to explain yourself, I get it. I’ll make sure Alex is there.” Brydee assured her.  
“Okay, god, why does this feel so scary?” Willow asked.  
“Because it was traumatic and Colby has always been like a big brother to us, the fact that he nor dean didn't know about it is a big deal, they usually know everything.” Brydee explained.  
“I can’t believe I hadn’t thought about it at all since that night.” Willow said, astonished.  
“The brain and mind are amazing things, they protect us in ways we can’t even imagine.” Brydee said seriously.  
“Look out, you’re starting to sound like Alex. She rubbing off on you huh?” Willow teased.  
Brydee shrugged. “You’d be surprised what I had to learn to get where I am. We train in torture techniques and preventatives, despite the fact that it’s all so vulgar, it can be quite interesting learning about the brain.” Brydee stated.  
“Yeah, okay nerd.” Willow mocked.  
“Alright get back to work Harris, I’ll see you tonight.” Brydee laughed at Willow’s huff at her.

Brydee was wondering whether or not she should call or text Alex. Calling felt like a bit much but it felt important and texts don’t usually convey importan-  
“You look like you’re about to pass out, you're that focused.” Alex said, laughing. She startled Brydee. She ended up laughing along with Alex.  
“Stupidly enough I was debating calling you.” Brydee admitted.  
“Oh? Well I’m honoured you take that much effort to make a decision to talk to me.” Alex teased.  
Brydee sighed sarcastically.  
“I wanted to ask you to come down to the beach at 7 tonight, it’s kind of important so I wasn’t sure a text would be enough but a phone call seemed like too much.” Brydee huffed.  
“You can always call me, you know that. What’s happening at 7?” Alex asked.  
“Uh, Willow and I are wanting to talk to.. Colby and Dean and you also got lumped in with them.” Brydee admitted.  
“Why me?”  
“I told you, Will wants to be honest with you.” Brydee said.  
“You know what I think? I think Willow wanted to tell me something from her past seeing as you’ve told me most of her secrets.” Alex said sarcastically.  
“It's much more serious than that, besides so what if that is just the case? Can't blame a girl for wanting to do that.” Brydee said, crossing her arms.  
“Do you usually pout when you get exposed?” Alex teased. Brydee’s jaw hung open, she hadn’t even realized she was pouting.  
“Wow, way to call a girl out Alex. I wasn’t even aware I was.” Brydee stated.  
“Sure you didn’t, just like you aren’t aware when you give me puppy dog eyes.” Alex said sarcastically.  
“I don’t know what you’re on about.” Brydee said as she looked Alex in the eyes and gave her puppy dog eyes. Alex swatted at her, laughing.  
“I’ll be there, if you’re sure that’s what she wants?” Alex asked.  
“I double checked myself, she does. I’ll let her know my puppy dog eyes worked on you again.” Brydee said proudly.  
“That is not what happened.” Alex raised her eyebrow at her.  
"Keep telling yourself that." Brydee smirked. Alex smiled back at her, her smile dropped slightly. Brydee could feel the mood of the conversation switch.  
"You said it was serious?" Alex asked.  
"Yes." Brydee answered.  
"Is she okay?" Brydee could hear the worry in Alex's voice.  
"She is but this won't be easy for her. She wants you there and she wants you to know and I can't say more but Alex she will need you, just be prepared for that." Brydee said honestly.  
"Of course. Thank you for letting me know Brydee." Alex said gratefully.  
“No problem. See you at 7 Alex.”


	71. Chapter 71

Willow was starting to get nervous, the rest of the day had gone by and her brain had been consumed by the memories she had up until a few hours ago, forgotten. She knew it was selfish of her to invite Alex, she wasn’t sure how the woman was going to respond but she knew it wasn’t fair but she just wanted to tell her something, Willow knew Alex wasn’t angry at her but she still felt guilty and a bit lousy that she hadn’t been able to tell her about everything that had happened. Brydee had explained to her that she told Alex it was safer for Willow to not tell her but she wasn’t sure if Alex believed that, Willow wasn’t even sure she believed that. Alex was the most caring and trusting person but she still hadn’t been able to open up to her. Willow had always told herself whenever some secret came up that it wasn’t up to her and it partly wasn’t but she knew deep down she could have trusted Alex with those secrets, she just couldn’t bring herself to open up. The weight of her thoughts had started getting to her, she text Brydee, she always had a way of making her feel better.  
“Freaking out a little, can we talk?” She sent.  
“By little do you mean a lot? Cause, mood.” Willow chuckled at Brydee’s reply.  
“Just grabbing a coffee from the Diner, meet me on the pier?” Brydee’s second message appeared.  
“I’ll be there shortly.” Was all Willow sent back.

Willow took a deep breath, she saw Brydee leaning onto the railing of the pier, she was reminded of Alex when Willow had talked with Dean about her sexuality. Willow smiled at the thought, this time her arrival wouldn’t be all smiles and jumping around, she was much too anxious for that. She walked up onto the pier and got about half way when Brydee turned around.  
“Hey, I got you a coffee. If you don’t feel up to drinking it I will understand, promise.” Brydee said seriously yet with a playful smile.  
“Do you have supersonic hearing or something?” Willow asked, unsure how she was able to hear her from all the way back where she was.  
“No, I just have years worth of training under my belt. The water is still and the planks creak a lot, sorry if I weirded you out. I tend to forget people don’t naturally have keen senses.” Brydee explained.  
“Don’t apologize B, at least I know I’m safe with you and no one can sneak up on us.” Willow said, bringing the playfulness back to the conversation.  
“You’ve always been safe with me, now you’re extra safe.” Brydee teased. Willow smiled brightly at her, the smile quickly fading when she thought on what she was going to say.  
“Did something happen?” Brydee asked.  
“The memories of that night and other nights started flooding back. I just didn’t expect it to hit me so hard and on top of that I feel guilty about roping Alex into this. I’m doing it purely for selfish reasons but I want her to know I do trust her. I just…” Willow struggled to find the words.  
“Just what?” Brydee asked quietly.  
“I just didn’t know how, it wasn’t that I didn’t trust her, it's that I didn’t know… how to trust at all. With Dean…” Willow sighed.  
“Hey, take your time it’s okay.” Brydee soothed, she rubbed Willow’s arm.  
“I know Dean is going to be angry when he finds out and I guess that’s why I want everyone there. I know you and Alex wont flip out, he will, he always does and I… I guess between him and Justin I stopped being able to open up about things. When I was with Alex I was in a constant fear that she would be disappointed in me or angry, I was so afraid of losing her over things I had no control over. I didn’t have these memories or I probably would have opened up to her but it wouldn’t have been easy. It still won’t be easy.” Willow finished, she put her head into Brydee’s shoulder and sobbed.  
“Will, listen to me. Dean is an idiot. I know you love him and he’s always going to be family but he’s an idiot. I am so sorry Dean and this Justin guy made you feel scared to be honest and open. Alex told me about a few times where she noticed you assuming she’d be disappointed and Will, that was always the last thing on her mind. I’m sorry they hurt you like this, emotional manipulation is horrible. Alex knows you Will, she knows how important they are and that some secrets are better left unsaid. Maybe you should tell her without the others, it might make it a little easier.” Brydee suggested. Brydee felt Willow cry even harder into her shoulder, she shook her head.  
“No, I can’t. I need you there.” Willow wracked out.  
“I’ll be there, I promise. I’m just suggesting maybe we tell her without the boys around.” Brydee explained.  
“Maybe.” Was all Willow said. She held onto Brydee tightly, softly crying.  
“Dean, he doesn’t manipulate people and I don’t think Justin-” Willow started to say.  
“Willow, you loved them both and they are still important people in your life. Sometimes these things can skew our view on the truth, I’ve seen Dean first hand manipulate you and the way you talk about some of the things that happened with Justin, it was manipulation. Sometimes, most of the time actually, people don’t even know they are doing it nor will the person who is being manipulated know. I don’t have a degree that allows me to back all this up like Alex probably does but I’m trained to weed people out, see manipulation a mile off, it’s what I’m good at. I know you care about them which is why you’ll keep defending them and I get it but I think it might be a good idea to talk to someone, professionally. You’d be amazed at the answers you might find to the overload going on in your head.” Brydee stated. Willow brought her head away from Brydee’s shoulder and looked up at her.  
“You really think so?” Willow asked.  
“I do. I know it can be scary but it can also be really beneficial.” Brydee said.  
“I couldn’t afford it even if I wanted to.” Willow huffed, she decided to hug herself into the crook of Brydee’s neck this time.  
“I can pay for your sessions.” Brydee offered.  
“No, absolutely not.” Willow disagreed, pushing herself back out of Brydee's arms.  
“Will-”  
“No. I can’t let my friend pay for my therapy.” Willow laughed mockingly.  
“How many times did you and your dad let Jai and I crash at your place? How many meals did he feed us? Are you forgetting the other day, with Roo? Family do these things. If it will help, it’s worth it to me Willow please. You’re helping me with physiotherapy for free, come on I could list so much more, let me do this.” Brydee practically begged.  
“Therapy is expensive-”  
“Tell me you wouldn’t do it for me. If you had the salary I had and the savings I have, tell me you wouldn’t help me.” Brydee challenged. She knew if there was any way Willow would take her up on her offer it was to make Willow see that she would do the same. She watched Willow falter.  
“I.. Brydee..” Willow trailed off.  
“You don’t need to say anything Will, just agree and we can sort out details later. I’ll look into the feds psychologists, that way you can talk openly about everything. That reminds me, I should ask Dad to do the same for Bella.” Brydee said, she whipped out her phone and text her dad.  
“Okay.” Willow said, Brydee looked up from her phone.  
“Yeah?” She asked.  
“Yeah, you’re right. I need to talk to someone and I’d do the same for you, I was willing to do the same for Colby and Bella.” Willow agreed.  
“Yes!” Brydee squealed in excitement. She lifted Willow up into a bear hug.  
“Alright Alright.” Willow chuckled. “We still need to figure out tonight.” Willow worried aloud.


	72. Chapter 72

Willow smiled while sipping her coffee, she was glad she text Brydee, she knew she would help give her some clarity, she always did.  
“Thanks.” Willow said softly.  
“For what?” Brydee asked with a grin.  
“For being you, I don’t know how I managed these last few years without you, actually now that I think about it, I didn’t.” Willow admitted.  
“Come on, things weren’t that bad. Were they?” Brydee asked. Willow sighed heavily. The sound worried Brydee.  
“You know I’m in GA?” Willow asked quietly. Brydee’s eyes widened.  
“Gambling?” Brydee asked. Willow nodded.  
“I guess you never really saw that side of me, I didn’t start gambling until after..” Willow trailed off, both were aware the following unsaid words were “after you left.” Brydee tried wrapping her head around it.  
“Addiction, I.. I don’t understand.” Brydee said truthfully.  
“It wasn’t a big deal until a couple of years ago, after I moved to Summer Bay, my life was falling apart and..” Willow stopped herself.  
“And?” Brydee questioned.  
“You know I think I just saw what you were saying.” Willow said.  
“Which was?” Brydee asked, confused.  
“About Dean, not really manipulation but.. I know I am responsible for my own actions and blah blah blah but if I’m being honest, I know it wouldn’t have gotten as bad if you were around.” Willow admitted. She watched Brydee’s face fall.  
“Wait! No, that’s not what I mean.” Willow accidentally yelled. She took a breath, she was thankful that Brydee trusted her enough to explain without interrupting while she gathered her thoughts.  
“What I mean is that Dean didn’t help, actually he encouraged it.I know he didn’t know that it was getting really bad but he still encouraged me to continue. He ended up breaking up with me and palming me back off onto Justin when things got rough so Justin could “fix me”. I hadn’t really made that connection in my head until just now. Like I said I am responsible but I see what you were saying now, they both treated me badly.” Willow admitted a truth she had clearly been denying herself for a while now.  
“Hey," Brydee cupped Willow's face with her hands. "I’m proud of you.” Brydee told her. Willow smiled at the ground, embarrassment taking over her emotions.  
“I’m serious Will, I know Dean loves you and you’ll always be family but you are so much better than him and you will thrive now that you don’t have his affections to deal with.” Brydee stated rather boldly.  
“You’re biased.” Willow joked.  
“I may be but I’m pretty sure I’m always right as well so it must be the truth.” Brydee joked back.  
“But really, I’m glad you’re here. I didn’t realize just how much I needed you in my life until I got you back.” Willow said honestly.  
“Back at ya, I missed you like crazy. Can I ask you something?” Brydee asked.  
“Of course.” Willow said.  
“Did this have anything to do with why you and Dean were credit card scamming?” Brydee questioned. Willow chuckled.  
“No wonder you’re a cop. Yeah, I got in way too deep. I thought you looked over the case, it was in my statements.” Willow informed her.  
“I looked over the charges, I didn’t look into your testimonies.” Brydee explained.  
“Oh, right. I was an idiot.” Willow said.  
“You had an addiction, there’s a big difference trust me Will.” Brydee stated. Willow smiled sadly.  
“It isn’t had, it’s has. You still struggle.” Brydee summarized by her expression.  
“You always did notice the little things. Yeah, most of the time I have control but sometimes it gets hard.” Willow explained.  
“My being in a coma, that must have been hard. I’m sorry Willow, you still go to meetings right?” Brydee asked.  
“I do, from time to time. It got so much better for a while there but I realized it isn’t something I’ll just be able to get over, it will always be there. I don’t think many people understand that.” Willow said sadly.  
“If you ever need me, I’m here. If you can’t get a hold of one of your GA guys, call me.” Brydee asked more than offered.  
“Thanks B, I will.” Willow squeezed her hand.  
“Are you sure you want to do this tonight? It’s a lot and Alex will understand, she already does understand.” Brydee explained.  
“You think so?” Willow asked. Brydee chuckled.  
“Yeah, I think she’s gotten a good understanding on the whole situation. Plus most of what I’ve told her has been specifically to do with Colby, no one blames you from keeping that from Alex. Especially before I came along, in fact I’m glad you didn’t tell her. Alex would do anything for you but having that weight on her conscience would have been unfair.” Brydee admitted.  
“I know that feeling. I’m glad Dean told me, it would have been way too complicated for me to not know but it also took its toll on me. Keeping secrets is never fun.” Willow clarified.  
“Is that why you are so eager to tell them? Because if that’s why, Willow, this isn’t a secret.” Brydee said.  
“What do you mean?” Willow asked.  
“It’s personal and private information and it was traumatic. Just because you keep something to yourself doesn’t make it a secret, plus, I’m not sure it can be a secret if you’ve blocked it from your memory.” Brydee wondered aloud.  
“Right, but it will most likely help give Colby a better understanding.” Willow stated.  
“Yes. And while I know Dean will flip if he finds out Colby knew something he didn’t, you're not obliged to tell Dean.” Brydee gave her a knowing look. Willow sighed.  
“It just feels wrong not telling Dean if I tell Colby.” Willow said partly defensive.  
“Would it have felt wrong to keep personal, intimate moments with Dean from Colby?” Brydee asked.  
“What?” Willow laughed.  
“I’m just saying, there’s things you wouldn’t have told Colby and for good reason. There’s things we tell people and keep from others and it doesn’t mean we love them or trust them any less.” Brydee explained.  
“I get it, I just don’t want to deal with the fallout.” Willow admitted.  
Brydee pinched the bridge of her nose then put her arms around Willow, she squeezed her a little tighter and sighed. She hated that Willow felt like she had to put up with Dean's bad behaviour but she wasn't about to start arguing with her about it all so instead she tried to pour as much love and support into her embrace as she could.   
“While I’m loving this crushing hug, care to tell me what it’s for?” Willow’s voice was muffled speaking into Brydee’s chest which caused Brydee to laugh. She sighed.  
“One day you’ll be at a point in your life where you won’t be in a position where Dean has this emotional hold he seems to have over you and when that day comes I think you’ll understand why I’m hugging you right now.” Brydee stated ambiguously. Willow sighed into her, trusting Brydee at her word. She didn’t understand right now but she smiled at the fact that one day she would.  
“I still think I want Dean there.” Willow said, lifting her head up to look at Brydee.  
“You don’t need my permission Willow, if that’s what you want I completely understand.” Brydee stated. She watched Willow breathe out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding, Brydee smiled sadly. Willow had assumed she would argue or tell her not to. She hoped one day Willow would see just how much Dean and the other men in her life have impacted her. She deserved to be free of that, to not worry if she was upsetting someone by doing what she wanted.


	73. Chapter 73

Brydee and Willow made their way back down to the beach, Brydee could feel the nervous energy coming off of Willow. She took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.  
“No matter what, I’m here.” She promised Willow. Willow nodded, Brydee watched Willow’s face contort into pain, she managed to push her feelings aside and gather herself.  
“Hey, if you need a minute let me know. You’re allowed to be emotional.” Brydee told her. She watched as a tear rolled down Willow’s cheek. Willow shook her head and cleared her voice.  
“As much as I wish I could fall apart in your arms right now, I have to stay strong. I can’t let them see me upset.” Willow stated.  
“Who?” Brydee responded.  
“Dean, Colby.” Willow muttered.  
“Well, Alex is here already. You don’t have to stay strong for her.” Brydee pointed out. Willow looked over to where Brydee was looking. Surely enough Alex was standing a little ways back from the water, looking out at the waves crashing.  
“Do you think I can tell her before Dean and Colby?” Willow asked.  
“You can do whatever you feel comfortable with.” Brydee assured her. Willow looked at her, Brydee watched her face harden a little. She walked over to where Alex was. 

As they approached Alex smiled kindly over at them. Brydee saw Willow falter a bit, her smile dropped and panic covered her features.  
“Will?” Alex asked. Willow snaked her hand out and grabbed Brydee’s arm for support. Brydee held her up.  
“Hey, it’s just Alex. If you don’t want to say anything you don’t have to. You’re in control Will.” Brydee assured her. Alex had moved closer at this point, clearly worried at the reaction Willow had upon seeing her.  
“Brydee’s right, I know you wanted to open up to me but don’t push yourself. I don’t want you to do that, okay? I want you to be completely comfortable when you tell me things, I understand how hard it is to open up.” Alex confided. Willow smiled sadly at them.  
“I’m sorry.” Willow whispered.  
“There’s no need to be sorry.” Alex assured her.  
“How about we sit?” Brydee suggested. Willow nodded, allowing Brydee to pull her to the ground with her. Willow rested her head against Brydee’s shoulder. Brydee watched Alex’s face etch with concern. Brydee moved her hand from Willow’s side to reassuringly squeeze Alex’s leg. Alex smiled sadly at her.  
“It was nothing really.” Willow said softly. Alex watched Brydee’s face scrunch up in worry, Alex knew Brydee was involved in whatever happened, by Brydee’s reaction Alex was very aware it was not nothing.  
“Brydee’s face says otherwise.” Alex stated.  
“Sorry.” Brydee mumbled to Willow.  
“Oi!” Dean yelled, Willow visibly flinched. Dean and Colby had arrived. Willow sighed.  
“Better get this over with.” She said, sounding defeated.  
“If you aren’t ready, you don’t have to do this.” Brydee said sternly.  
“You’re pretty great, you know that?” Willow asked. Brydee blushed, she heard Alex chuckle.  
“It’s been mentioned.” Brydee said begrudgingly.  
“You’ll be here, no matter what?” Willow looked up at her, she looked so fragile in that moment. It shocked Brydee.  
“Always. We can go and eat copious amounts of horrible food after and or we can get plastered?” Brydee suggested.  
“A world of yes.” Willow replied.  
“To which?” Brydee questioned. Willow looked at her amusingly.  
“Yes.” Was all Willow said.  
“Fine, both it is. I’ll drink you under the table.” Brydee stated.  
“Pretty sure under the table is where all the fun happens or wait, is that on top of the table?” Willow asked. She gave Brydee a devilish grin, happy with herself at the shocked look on Brydee’s face.  
“What’s all this about?” Dean asked obnoxiously. Brydee had to keep her temper in check, she hated the way Dean sometimes talked to Willow, like she was irrelevant. Willow was one of the best people Brydee knew and it irked her to no end that Dean took her for granted.  
“If you’d stop being obnoxious maybe you’d find out.” Brydee couldn’t help throwing back at him.  
“What happened?” Colby asked sternly. He knew by Brydee’s response to Dean’s behaviour that something serious was going on.  
“I remembered something that happened when we were kids, I had blocked it out of my memory up until Brydee mentioned it.” Willow started to explain.  
“So whatever this important thing is, Brydee already knows.” Dean said, annoyed.  
“You are aware the world does not revolve around you, right?” Brydee said to Dean.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He said defensively.  
“You crack up if you don’t know every minor detail of Willow’s life except most of the time you don’t even have time for Willow, I’ve watched you brush her off, don’t act like you’re the most important and relevant person in her life when you rarely give her the time of day.” Brydee stated. Everyone watched Dean’s nostrils flare, Brydee had struck a nerve.  
“You don’t get to judge me on my friendship with Will. You left her, remember? I never would.” Dean spat back.  
“I lost my brother.” Brydee said warningly.  
“Stop, the both of you. Brydee did what she had too and Dean’s allowed to have other people be the focus of his life.” Willow defended the both of them. Alex could feel the tension rising fast, obviously so could Willow as she stepped in, Alex thought Dean and Brydee were on good terms again but by the display in front of her she assumed she had been wrong about that.  
“Sorry, please continue.” Brydee said softly to Willow. Dean huffed. A light bulb went off in Alex’s head, Brydee was never afraid to admit when she was wrong or overstepped, she would always apologize for causing tension. Dean on the other hand would never apologize, Alex figured Brydee and Willow had been discussing Dean’s behaviour previously which is why Brydee was quickly set off. Alex secretly hoped Brydee’s influence would show Willow just how toxic Dean was towards her, Willow didn’t deserve to have someone in her life who treated her like Dean did. She heard Willow take in a deep breath, Alex pulled all her focus onto Willow now, the woman clearly needed her undivided attention.  
“Brydee knows because she lived it with me, not because I told her.” Willow stated. Dean’s demeanor changed, he looked guilty for jumping the gun. Willow looked at Colby, he was looking at her sternly, his eyes softened when she made eye contact but he was still preparing himself, he knew whatever this was, it wasn’t good. Willow sighed and continued.  
“You remember the night Jai broke his leg?” Willow asked them all.  
“Yeah he said he was showing off and fell down the stairs, why?” Dean asked rather grumpily.  
“He didn’t fall down the stairs. Ross snapped his leg by stomping down on it.” Willow admitted quietly.  
“What? Why wouldn’t he tell us that?” Dean asked, there was an accusation in his voice.  
“How about you let her finish.” Colby said. Brydee was thankful someone else had stepped in. She was about to completely lose it with Dean.  
“Jai, Brydee and I had come over to hang out with you both but you weren’t home. Ross told us we could wait upstairs for you.” Willow continued. Her voice was wavering a little, Brydee stepped closer to her and put a reassuring hand on her back.  
“Not too long after Ross came upstairs, he told Jai and Brydee to leave. He was so angry. He grabbed my wrist and then I saw Jai and Brydee rush him, I had no idea what was happening. Ross backhanded Brydee and threw Jai off of him. He turned back to me and he went for my shirt..” Willow trailed off, she couldn’t continue. Brydee felt her squeeze her hand, Brydee took over explaining.  
“Jai and I were back on our feet and started hitting into him again, we were tiny in comparison but we distracted him enough that he put all his attention on us and let go of Will, he pushed Jai to the ground and stomped on his leg. I’ll never forget that sound, his bone snapping. It was terrifying. He turned and went back to Willow, Jai was screaming. I tried jumping on his back, I managed to get my arm around his throat but he was way too strong, I thought he was going to break my arm but instead he threw me against the wall. I was rocked after that, I tried getting back up but I couldn’t. He put his attention back on Willow but thankfully Karen had arrived to pick Dean up and heard Jai screaming, she smacked Ross over the head with a lamp. She took Jai to A&E, he told them it was an accident and I think we were all too traumatized to argue the truth so we went along with it, I think it was easy to accept the lie that he fell because it gave our brains an excuse to remove that horrible night from our memories.” Brydee concluded.  
“But Mum stepped in before he did anything right?” Dean asked desperately.  
“To me, yes. He snapped Jai’s leg and did a number on Brydee’s face.” Willow clarified.  
“Yeah but he didn’t..” Dean started to say.  
“Whether or not he sexually assaulted Willow isn’t the point. He wanted to, he tried to, he snapped Jai’s leg in the process and hurt Brydee, it was traumatic for all of them to the point that they had blocked those memories to protect themselves.” Alex stated. She was fed up with Dean, she understood him wanting clarification on if Willow had been hurt but he was missing the point entirely and didn’t seem to care at all that others had been hurt.  
“I couldn’t do anything, I watched him hurt them both as they put themselves in harm's way for me.. And I couldn’t do anything but stand frozen in place watching him hurt them.” Willow said, she was close to tears.  
“He’s lucky he’s dead-” Dean started to say, he stopped when he realized Alex was with them.  
“She knows. Brydee told her.” Willow explained.  
“You what?!” Dean exploded.  
“Calm down. The case is acquitted, even if she wanted to dob Colby in, she couldn’t.” Brydee said.  
“Not that I would. Even before this, I understood this world was better off without him.” Alex said honestly. She knew the way Brydee talked about him that he had been capable of horrible things.  
“None of that matters! You can’t just go telling any old person our secrets! I thought you were family?” Dean stated accusingly.  
“Our definitions of family are different, Alex has proven herself way more than you have recently so don’t throw the family card at me. It’s not my fault you don’t feel like you can be open with Ziggy about it, maybe if you got off your high horse for once you’d learn that you can in fact trust people. I get that you’ve all gotten closer over the years but we aren’t children anymore, we are allowed to let others in. If we don’t we will all end up alone and spiteful of each other. So get over it.” Brydee spat.  
“I didn’t tell Ziggy to protect her. Clearly you don’t have a care in the world about the effect it could have on Alex.” Dean seethed.  
“Do you actually hear yourself? Which is it Dean? Are you worried about me telling your little secrets or are you concerned for Alex’s well being? Stop kidding yourself, you are once again being a selfish prick and if it isn’t your way it’s the highway and I’m fed up with it. Alex had pretty much figured most of it out, if you haven’t noticed she’s incredibly perceptive, if I hadn't told her it could have made the situation even messier.” Brydee explained.  
“Oh, how so?” Dean asked angrily.  
“She could have started asking questions, if she asked the wrong person who knows what could have happened. Don’t forget I’m the one who made this disappear, if it wasn’t for me you’d be sitting in a jail cell right about now.” Brydee shot back.  
“And like you said you had it sorted, it was gone and done so why tell her?” Dean asked.  
“Because she was figuring it out anyway and god forbid she had asked you about it, she would have ended up being screamed at.” Brydee stated.  
“So she would have asked me, Colby or Willow, what’s the big deal?” Dean asked.  
“And what if she had asked Mac? She’s your sister, remember? Your actual family. She also dated Colby, it wouldn’t have been much of a leap to assume she would have known.” Brydee explained.  
“She’s right.” Colby said all of a sudden.  
“Mate-” Dean started.  
“Dean give it a break. Yes, she told Alex. Alex is loyal and cares about the both of them, she isn’t about to hurt Willow or Brydee by using the information against us. Open your eyes a little and you’ll see Alex is just as much a member of this family as you are. She’s stuck with us.” He stated, smiling softly at Alex. She smiled warmly back at him, the sentiment meant a lot to her, she had felt close to all of them, before Bella hurt Brydee at least.  
“Yeah, except one problem mate. She dobbed Bella in the first chance she had.” Dean said.  
“Bella picked up a massive rock and hit Brydee in the back of the head with it, a cowards punch with a fucking rock, Dean. I know none of us wanted to believe her but we should have, Bella needs help and you defending her at every corner isn’t helping.” Colby stated.  
“So what Willow can defend her but I can’t?” Dean threw back.  
“That’s not the point, yes at the time Willow defended her but now she knows the truth. We might be sticking by Bella but that doesn’t mean we approve of her behaviour, we are trying to teach her when things are wrong, not make excuses.” Colby explained.  
“I was in denial, Dean. I didn’t want to believe Alex but when Brydee woke up and confirmed what happened I had to deal with it. I won’t enable her bad behaviour anymore. She needs help and we are going to do everything we can to get her it, Brydee’s already gone out of her way to try and make sure Bella doesn’t end up in jail.” Willow stated.  
Dean huffed and threw his hands up.  
“Brydee isn’t a Doctor, what would she know? Bella will be fine.” Dean stated. Alex was fed up.  
“No she won’t. Brydee may not be a Doctor but I am. Between Salt, covering up for Irene, overdosing on random drugs and her nearly killing Brydee, how could you possibly think she will be fine? If she doesn’t get help she will most likely end up killing herself or someone else and she just assumes Colby will clean up her mess for her. That way of thinking isn’t normal, it isn’t safe.” Alex stated. She was breathing heavily, she couldn’t believe just how thick Dean was.  
“The whole reason Willow told you all of this is because Bella needs help, we can never fully understand what it must have been like for her, to live with Ross for all those years, realizing later that she inadvertently got her mother killed. The trauma she’s experienced would drive anyone to the brink, we need to make sure we pull her away from the cliff she’s dangling herself over.” Brydee explained.  
“They’re right, she needs help, for her sake and for everyone else. I’m just.. I’m so sorry. I knew he was capable of some horrible things but I never thought he would try and hurt you, I should have put an end to him back then.” Colby said, he sounded defeated.  
“It wasn’t your fault.” Willow said.  
“No one is to blame but Ross. There’s no point thinking on what ifs.” Brydee stated.  
“Easy for you to say.” Dean said.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She shot back.  
“Well you left the least unscathed.” He retorted. Brydee saw red, she went to move towards him but found Alex’s body in the way.  
“We should go.” She said softly to Brydee.  
“I’d rather stay and knock his teeth in.” Brydee said.  
“I know but he’s not worth it.” Alex pointed out. Dean scoffed.  
“Yeah, be a good little girl and listen to the Doctor.” Dean mocked. Willow and Colby stood looking at each other, both of them feeling a little more broken inside, neither were with it enough to notice the fight that was about to break out.  
“Dean, stop.” Alex said warningly.  
“No thanks, I unlike Brydee aren’t whipped by your every word.” Dean continued.  
“What is it exactly that’s got you so upset? Is it the fact that Brydee threw herself in harm’s way to save Willow? You talk big about wanting to protect Willow but I think you’re just a little bit worried that you couldn’t have done what Jai and Brydee did that night and that eats at you and it makes you hateful. Brydee has done nothing wrong, you say she left the least unscathed, but we both know it’s the opposite. We both know she’d go to hell and back to protect Willow and that’s why you’re angry, because she will always put Willow first and you can’t stand the thought that someone else might care for her. You moved on, Dean. Let Willow do the same.” Alex said boldly. She was breathing heavily again. Everyone was looking at her, she had snapped Willow and Colby out of their trance. She felt embarrassed for snapping and putting Dean in his place but someone needed to and she rather it was her than Brydee’s fists.  
“You’re wrong. I wouldn’t have let him get away with trying to hurt Willow.” Dean stated.  
“He was three times our size and he had snapped Jai’s leg, the second Karen showed up we got the hell out of there.” Brydee said through grit teeth.  
“Why tell us now?” Colby wanted clarification from Willow.  
“I only just remembered myself and Brydee and I are worried Ross might have hurt Bella. I know Bella said he didn’t in her statement but if anything this has taught me that trauma can sometimes be buried.” Willow explained.  
“I’m looking into getting her a psychologist associated with the feds, that way Bella can be honest about everything and not have to worry about repercussions.” Brydee explained.  
Colby looked at her with soft eyes.  
“Thank you.” He said, emotion filling his voice.  
“Thank you?! None of this would have happened if you had spoken up! Instead of keeping quiet and abiding by everything Jai and Willow said and did, if you had been your own person for one god damn second maybe he never would have taken Bella! Jai might still be here!” Dean yelled. Alex’s face fell, she stepped out of Brydee’s way. Alex had assumed Brydee was about to knock him flat on his back, she knew better than to try and stop her, Dean had gone too far. Willow whipped around, she put her hands on Brydee’s shoulders.  
“Let’s go, Alex is right. He isn’t worth it.” Willow whispered. Alex was shocked to see Brydee hadn’t made a move, she didn’t even look angry. Realization hit Alex like a freight train. Brydee hadn’t attacked Dean because she believed Dean was right, she blamed herself.  
“He’s wrong. Brydee, look at me. There is nothing you could have done, Jai made the call to keep this from everyone. You told me he was ride or die, remember? That he would have done anything for Colby because he looked at him like he was a brother. He loved Colby, nothing you could have said or done would have stopped him from following Colby even if that meant following him to his death. You know that, you explained that to me. Ross would have gone to extreme lengths to take Bella and their mum, you know better than anyone that he wouldn’t have stopped and Jai would have never given up on helping Colby.” Alex said hurriedly. She watched silent tears stream down Brydee’s face.  
“Let’s go for a walk, come on.” Willow said, dragging Brydee away with her.  
“You stay here.” Alex said threateningly to Dean. Alex turned and walked towards the direction Willow had taken off, she could hear feet behind her, she assumed they were Colby’s.


	74. Chapter 74

Colby quickly caught up to Alex.  
“Did you know?” Colby asked, he sounded so small.  
“No, after Brydee told me about the charges and you and Ross, Willow had wanted to tell me something personal. I think she felt she owed me that.” Alex admitted, she shook her head. She hoped Willow hadn’t felt pressured into telling her.  
“I’m sorry, most of the things Will has kept from you is because of me.” He admitted.  
“There’s no need to apologize, I don’t blame her at all.” Alex said truthfully.  
“Will!” He called out, Alex looked over to where he was looking. Brydee was sitting on the sand, Willow had her arms around her. Willow got up as they came over.  
“Is she okay? Are you okay? I’m sorry, we didn’t really get much of a chance to talk.” He said.  
“I would have been happier if she had decked him one, he deserves it.” Willow seethed.  
“I’ll knock some sense into him later. You know what Dean’s like, he gets emotional when something bad happens to you and blames himself but instead of admitting that he attacks the next best person.” Colby reminded her.  
“You’re right, I hate that he took a dig at Jai.” Willow admitted.  
“I know. I might go and sit with her, is that okay?” Colby asked.  
“Yeah, of course.” She said. Colby smiled sadly at her and made his way over to sit in the sand next to Brydee.

“I’m sorry.” Colby said as he sat down.  
“I shouldn’t have let him get to me, it isn’t your fault.” Brydee said.  
“I try to pull him into line where I can but no matter what any of us do he just doesn’t seem to change. It makes me worry.” Colby admitted.  
“About Bella?” She asked. He nodded.  
“Sure Dean has changed since we were 18 but some things I just think won’t ever change. He lashes out like a child when he doesn’t get his way. What if Bella doesn’t cooperate? What if she does but it doesn’t help?” Colby asked desperately, he got choked up on his words.  
“I know it’s hard to hold onto hope but parts of you are in Bella, your mum as well. You’re both good people. She’s already got good influences around her, she just needs to change her behaviour. I don’t think you realize just how much an actual professional can help.” Brydee said.  
“I trust you, it’s just hard sometimes. I thought it was getting better.” Colby admitted.  
“It will, Colby.” Brydee assured him. Colby took a slow, deep breath.  
“You know Dean’s an idiot. He will blindly follow me into any situation but the thought of anyone else being capable of doing that never crosses his mind. I’ll be honest, I think he was always a little jealous of Jai. That’s why he lashes out, he knows better than anyone the lengths Jai would have gone for us, because Dean would do the exact same thing. He’s just thick sometimes.” Colby explained.  
“I know. It’s still hard not to be angry at Dean. Ultimately the blame fell with Ross and yeah, Jai would have gone to hell and back for all of us. It’s just hard sometimes to not think about the fact that Dean crashed the car. Especially when he tries to take digs at me. I want to get along with him, I want to move past everything but I struggle to and then he pulls shit like tonight and my own brain turns against me.” Brydee explained.  
“I think about that night so much. I think about what ifs and it does not do any good. I loved Jai, I’ll always feel partly responsible but you’re right, Ross was to blame. I’m just sorry we had to lose Jai, he was the best of us. I’m sorry about Dean, he knows how to get to people and it isn’t fair. But you’re the bigger person, you always have been, that’s why you let him and Willow be together without hassle as kids. You were bigger enough to allow Willow to be happy, I’m not sure Dean would have done the same.” Colby admitted.  
“The way he treats Willow bugs the hell out of me, Colby.” Brydee admitted. Colby sighed.  
“I know how you feel. You should have seen how he reacted to Willow coming out.” Colby said.  
“I don’t want to know, do I?” Brydee asked.  
“No. Funnily enough I think that’s something you and Bella would have agreed on, Dean was being an idiot.” Colby clarified.  
“She’ll be okay. You just need to be there for her now more than ever, hopefully with time she will learn how wrong her actions were and that you won’t in fact cover up for her if she were to murder someone.” Brydee stated.  
“She really said that?” Colby asked.  
“Not in so many words, but the implications were there, yes.” Brydee said. Colby shook his head.  
“I am so sorry. I knew she was in a bad head space but I didn’t in a million years think she would hurt someone.” Colby admitted.  
“I didn’t see it coming. I know I should have but I didn’t so don’t be too hard on yourself.” She tried to reassure him. Colby looked out to the ocean, lost in thought. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

“He never…Ross, did he?” Colby sighed, he didn’t know how to ask.  
“No. I can’t speak for Willow but Jai and I made sure she was never alone with him, the same went for me. Jai was on high alert around him after that, unlike Willow and I, I don’t think he ever forgot about it.” Brydee explained.  
“Part of me wished I had known and the other part of me is afraid of what I would have done.” Colby admitted.  
“You would have ended up in jail, that’s why it isn’t worth thinking about what ifs. That and it hurts, I could torment myself all day over things I could have done but what’s the point? I can’t bring Jai back. He wouldn’t want me to suffer, sometimes it’s just hard to block those thoughts out though, especially when Dean rams them into my head in the first place” Brydee pointed out.  
“I could sit here and try to justify his behaviour but I’m sick of doing that. He needs to grow up. I thought Ziggy might help him there but I’m not so sure anymore, he overreacts about everything to the point Ziggy will keep important things from him to not cause fights.” Colby said.  
“Hopefully he learns before he ends up old and alone.” Brydee huffed.  
“We’re good, right?” Colby asked softly.  
“Of course we are. We’ll always be family Colby, just maybe not as intense as you Bella, Dean and Willow seem to be. It can get a little toxic.” Brydee admitted.  
“I know. I’m hoping this can all be a new clean slate and hopefully Bella gets help and there won’t be a bunch of secrets anymore. This place has been great for us all and I think it would do Willow and I some good to let others in more.” Colby admitted.  
“I hope so too. I’ll admit I miss the loyalty and love we all had, Lance found out the hard way that even those who seem like your family can betray you if there’s another motive. It was never like that with us, I know I could trust you with anything.” Brydee admitted.  
“You still can trust me with anything, seriously if you ever need my help Brydee I’m a phone call away, whether it be personal or business, I’m here.” Colby stated.  
“Same goes for you, whenever you need. Although maybe just wait until I’m fully healed first.” She joked. Colby smiled at her.  
“Do you think you’ll come back to the force?” He asked.  
“I hope so. I was talking to Alex about it and I just don’t know if I’m ready yet. Helping Ryder brought back my love for it but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t struggling after Lance.” Brydee admitted.  
“I get that, usually I throw myself in to forget though.” Colby said.  
“I did that originally. That’s the whole reason I came here, to avenge Lance. Once that was finished up though I didn’t really think about the future and then when I did Bella stepped in.” Brydee chuckled. Colby looked wide eyed at her, confused as to how she could make jokes so soon.  
“You gotta laugh, if you don’t you’ll end up crying. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but at a certain point the pain becomes too much..” Brydee trailed off.  
“You’re sticking around though?” He asked.  
“Yeah, figure even if I don’t go back there will be something for me, Willow said she could do with my help, so I’ve got options. I did ask dad to get my team together and have them set up here.” Brydee told him.  
“We could do with a specialist team nearby.” Colby agreed.  
“Good, maybe we can make a fed out of you yet.” Brydee teased.  
“Nah, I like the normal cop life.” He jested back.  
“Eating donuts and never getting anything done?” Brydee mocked.  
“Woooow, tell me how you really feel.” Colby joked, he put Brydee in a playful headlock, Willow and Alex watched them from afar with a smile on their lips, enjoying the sound of Brydee’s carefree laughter.


	75. Chapter 75

“Are you okay?” Alex asked Willow quietly. Willow smiled sadly at her.  
“I will be. We are going to look into getting someone for me to talk to, Brydee was adamant about it and I guess it can’t hurt to give it a try.” Willow admitted.  
“It can be incredibly beneficial.” Alex agreed. Willow nodded.  
“I guess I’ve always kept it all to myself, the thought of telling a stranger is..” Willow trailed off.  
“Daunting?” Alex offered.  
“Yeah, pretty much. But it’ll make Brydee happy because she thinks in the long run it’ll make me happy so in a roundabout way, pleasing her will help me in the long run. She’s good like that, she made me feel okay about-” Willow stopped herself.  
“About?” Alex asked curiously.  
Willow sighed. “There’s no way I could afford a councilor.” Willow said.  
“Ah, Brydee offered to pay.” Alex summarized.  
“Yeah and she did it in a way that didn’t make me feel.. Useless I guess.” Willow said quietly.  
“It’s okay to not feel completely comfortable talking about it. It’s one thing to accept her proposal and another to open up about it to someone else. You share a deep bond with Brydee, she understands you better than anyone else as far as I’ve seen. It doesn’t surprise me that she found a way to make you feel okay accepting her offer.” Alex said seriously, she chuckled towards the end of her sentence.  
“She’s pretty great, though, you understand me well too.” Willow stated.  
“While that may be true, I’m not sure I could have convinced you to talk to someone.” Alex said. She was actually impressed Brydee had managed it.  
“I am fairly stubborn.” Willow chuckled.  
“That and nothing is quite like a bond we have with our childhood friends. She’s told me stories about her growing up and the things you all did for her, she hasn’t forgotten.” Alex informed her.  
Willow nodded.  
“She did use that to get me to agree.” Willow smiled. Alex laughed.  
“Of course she did, smart woman. I hope Dean hasn’t gotten to her too much.” Alex said defeated.  
“You know earlier we were talking about Dean and the impact he has had on me and I think I’m slowly starting to see what she means.” Willow said.  
“What do you mean?” Alex asked. She knew exactly what she meant, Alex was well aware Brydee shared the same views on Dean’s treatment of Willow as Alex did and Alex had assumed earlier the pair had discussed things, she just wanted to hear Willow admit it for herself.  
“She thinks he manipulates me and well everyone. I don’t think he is intentionally doing it but tonight was just…. It was too far. She was right, if he doesn’t get his way or someone doesn’t agree with his opinion, he cracks up. I was worried about how he would react and I don’t even know why, most of the time anything negative in any way sets him off. I had to tell Colby though, he needed to know what Ross was capable of, for Bella’s sake.” Willow clarified.  
“And me?” Alex asked softly. Willow grimaced slightly.  
“I got into my head about wanting to be open with you about it, I never meant to keep things from you.” Willow said.  
“You didn’t, I understand why you didn’t tell me about Colby and Ross, the only reason Brydee told me was because I was getting suspicious and Mac said something that fueled my suspicions even more so I more or less backed her into a corner.” Alex explained.  
Willow chuckled. “I’m sure she didn’t mind that.” She said jokingly.  
“How is she?” Alex tried to change the subject.  
“You’ve seen her just about as much as I have, she’s all for your brain exercises. She’s convincing me to let her do the books to keep her mind occupied.” Willow told her.  
“I do give the best advice.” Alex shrugged playfully.  
“Yeah well I give the best workouts, I’m about to start kicking her butt in the gym.” Willow said, partially sadistically.  
“Oh no.” Alex joked.  
“Oh yes, she’s going to hate me. She seems to be doing much better now anyway, I think having freedom and getting out has done a world of good for her, she stubbornly walked from the Stewart’s to the surf club the other day, we don’t start her physio until tomorrow.” Willow said, shaking her head.  
“Well at least her body is handling being out of hospital, I was worried she might struggle. I should have known not to worry but she was nervous and it rubbed off on me.” Alex explained.  
“Don’t worry Al, she’s in good hands.” Willow said sincerely.  
“How are you doing?” Willow continued to ask.  
“Me? I’m fine, why do you ask?” Alex questioned.  
“I meant with Brydee out of hospital now, come on Alex, I know you’d be missing her company.” Willow pointed out. Alex sighed.  
“It has been slightly weird adjusting to not seeing her everyday whenever I want. I made up some excuse in my head to check in on her, I felt like an idiot but I shouldn’t have, Brydee was just as happy to see me as I was her.” Alex explained.  
“Just like you used to work out so you could spend time with me.” Willow teased.  
“Hey, that benefited my health!” Alex joked.  
“Ahuh, you should have some more sessions, you don’t want to lose all your progress.” Willow teased.  
“I think you’ll have your hands full.” Alex pointed out.  
“I’m sure I could handle the both of you.” Willow stated, Alex noted the double meaning in her tone.  
“Careful you, you’ll scare her off.” Alex joked. Willow laughed.  
“And you?” Willow asked mischievously.  
“I don’t think that’s possible.” Alex answered sincerely.  
“I really can’t wait for the day she realizes you’ve got the hots for her.” Willow remarked, humor laced her words.  
“Willow.” Alex said warningly.  
“Oh come on Alex, you’ll have to tell her eventually.” Willow pointed out.  
“No, I don’t. It will only hurt her, look at what happened before she got hurt, she was ready to block us out of her life to make sure she didn’t get in the road and that was only due to Bella’s meddling.” Alex explained.  
“Okay but you also managed to talk her around, before Bella whacked her one.” Willow pointed out. Alex sighed, she didn’t know what to do.  
“I don’t have the answers Willow. You know Brydee better than anyone, tell me she won’t ask ten times the amount of questions you would.” Alex said.  
“Okay so she’ll ask questions that you won’t have the answers too, that’s life Al. Open and honest communication did us pretty well. Brydee is understanding, maybe not at first but she is a woman of compromise. If she wants something she will do whatever it takes.” Willow explained.  
“I know, I think deep down I’m… I don’t know. I feel this horrible guilt about my feelings for her and I am terrified she will think I’m everything I fear. What if she doesn’t get it? I know she’s understanding but having feelings for multiple people.. I..” Alex started getting choked up.  
“There’s a stigma around it.” Willow finished Alex’s unsaid thoughts.  
“And for good reason.” Alex said, she half laughed half sobbed.  
“Men, Why do they have to ruin everything?” Willow joked. Alex tried to laugh, she didn’t have it in her anymore.  
“Hey, look at me. Alex. The only people your feelings should concern are you and the people you have feelings for. No one else matters. I understand, trust me. I’ve been here before, with Dean and Justin and I hate to admit that but it’s true, I had feelings for the both of them.” Willow explained.  
“And Brydee?” Alex asked.  
“I honestly don’t know nor do I understand how I feel. You know you have intimate feelings for her, I’m not sure. Do I think she’d be great in bed? Yes. Do I think she would be amazing to grow old with? Yes. Would I want to risk our friendship based on what I may feel? No. I’m not in a place where I could even consider any sort of feelings for B, I love you and I’m just not there and before you start, we are different people Alex, you’re allowed to want to explore those feelings and I’m allowed to not want to. I have a solid strong friendship with her and right now I am dandy with that. I love her, I always have. I’m just not sure I would ever risk ruining that friendship.” Willow explained.  
“Well, firstly. I don’t think you ever could ruin that, Brydee would love you no matter what happened. Secondly, how do you know exactly what to say to ease my mind? And thirdly, as much as I want to protest I do understand what you are saying, I just feel so much guilt over exploring my feelings. I could be happy with just having her as a friend, I’m just not sure why every part of me starts protesting when I try and process that thought.” Alex said. Willow chuckled.  
“Probably the same reason why you gave us a go, you see something there, something worth possibly going after. Brydee and I are different, she isn’t someone new walking into my life and confusing my feelings, my feelings have always been confused and I’ve gotten used to that, you haven’t. I know I can live with her as my friend, I don’t find it necessary to approach something new because I know we will always come back to each other. And while I know Brydee will always be there for you too, the circumstances are different.” Willow explained.  
“There you go again, knowing exactly what to say.” Alex chuckled.  
“I’ll add feelings guru next to “exercise dictator” on my cv.” Willow teased. Alex smiled at the memory.  
“Thank you, seriously. I’m incredibly lucky to have you in my life, even with everything that has happened. You have been so understanding and kind, helpful even. I couldn’t be more grateful for that, Will.” Alex said sincerely.  
“You’re more than welcome, Alex.” Willow said, smiling at Alex.


	76. Chapter 76

Colby and Brydee were still talking and laughing together, the night air was starting to get cold on the beach. A shiver ran down Alex’s body.  
“Here.” Willow said, offering Alex her Gym jacket.  
“I’m fine.” Alex tried to protest.  
“For crying out loud woman you know I can be chivalrous too right?” Willow teased.  
“Fine, but if you start feeling cold you have to take it back.” Alex stated.  
“Sure thing, Doc.” Willow mocked. Alex held her tongue, she smirked at Willow and turned her attention back to Colby and Brydee. She was glad they seemed to be enjoying each others company, she was also glad that they had given her and Willow a moment to talk, she hadn’t realized just how much she had needed to talk to her. Sadness washed over Alex suddenly, the thoughts of a young Willow and Brydee fighting off a fully grown man from sexually assaulting Willow took over her thoughts, she could see it vividly in her mind, even Jai. Brydee had shown her a picture of them when they were younger, she flinched at the thought of his poor leg snapping. She tried her best to shut off her thoughts, she didn’t want to think about what could have been.  
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Willow asked, she wiped the tears that rolled down Alex’s face.  
“I’m sorry.” Alex half sobbed, confusion spread across Willow’s face.  
“Why?” She asked, panic was setting in. One moment they were watching Colby and Brydee laugh and the next Alex was in tears.  
“That he tried to hurt you, that you had to go through any of that.” Alex whispered.  
“Oh, Alex.. It’s okay. I’m okay.” Willow assured her.  
“I’m sorry that you felt pressured to tell me.” Alex said softly, wiping away her tears.  
“I put pressure on myself yes but I wanted to tell you, you were the easiest one to tell. I thought Colby and Dean would flip out but I trusted that you wouldn’t, you didn’t know him, Colby and Dean did and they never even blinked an eye when Jai told them what had happened, we were all young and naive so I don’t blame them for not questioning it more but I was worried how they would take it. I should have known Dean would take his anger out on Brydee, I shouldn’t have put her in that position but I needed her there.” Willow explained.  
“I’m glad you told me, you know you can always talk to me if you need or want to. I’ll always have your best interests at heart and you know Brydee wouldn’t have been anywhere else, she knows how Dean reacts and would never have let you do that alone.” Alex stated. Willow sighed.  
“I know, which is why she’s always been my best friend, I really don’t know how I lived without her all those years. Up until you came along I don’t think I did live. I was just going through the motions and then you tipped my world upside down, for the better of course.” Willow said, smiling.  
“Well I’m glad I made an improvement on your life.” Alex mocked proudly.  
“Joke all you want, you know it’s true.” Willow said seriously.  
“I know, I understand how you feel. I never thought I would get over my past relationship, never thought I’d want to stick around somewhere longer than a couple of months but you changed all of that.” Alex said honestly.  
“You’re welcome.” Willow stated, she held her serious look for as long as she could before she cracked a smile. Alex chuckled.  
“Now I’m about to finally run an emergency department, full time.” Alex said, there was childlike wonder in her voice.  
“To be honest I kind of assumed you’d want out of there.” Willow admitted.  
“A month ago I would have agreed with you, it’s still difficult but it’s gotten a lot easier. I think I have Brydee to thank for that.” Alex said truthfully.  
“Looking after her made you forget?” Willow asked.  
“Eventually yes, that helped a lot. She normalized it again for me but when I first met her she helped me get through the front doors and since that day it has gotten easier. I smile when I think of Mason now, I still get sad but Brydee has this way of… I really don’t know how to explain it. She seems to know him without ever having met him. She comforts me with how he would feel and she just knows.” Alex tried explaining.  
“I know exactly what you mean, she has always been like that. As kids she would talk about my mum like she had known her and it felt comforting to me.” Willow said, nodding with what Alex had said.  
“Both of you are smiling, must be talking about me.” Brydee joked, Alex and Willow looked over to her, neither had noticed Colby and Brydee had come over to them.  
“Cracking jokes? You must be feeling better.” Willow pointed out. Brydee shrugged.  
“It’s hard to not let his words get to me, especially when it was worded how it was. I know I couldn’t have done anything differently and beating myself up over it does no one any good but it’s hard to realize that on your own, sometimes you just need a friend to lead you out of the fog.” Brydee said, nudging Colby playfully.  
Alex smiled at her sentiment, she looked over at Willow who was also looking at her. She gave her a knowing smile, they would always try and lead each other out of the fog.  
“Don’t worry, I’ll be having words with Dean. I’m over his attitude.” Colby stated.  
“Do you think he’ll still be waiting up there?” Brydee asked.  
“Alex was pretty stern with him, I wouldn’t want to disobey her.” Colby said, partly serious but mostly joking.  
“You’ll keep that in mind the next time you’re in a hospital bed?” Alex asked innocently.  
Colby scoffed. “What makes you think I’ll end up in another hospital bed?” He asked, jokingly mocking.  
“Because it’s you, when don’t you get yourself into trouble?” Brydee questioned.  
“She’s got a point.” Willow said, chuckling.  
“As if!” Colby exclaimed.  
“Shall we list them?” Brydee asked.  
“Let’s.” Willow agreed.  
“You nearly got yourself killed by a sociopath.” Brydee pointed out.  
“Oh you saw that did you? Did it mention that he was allergic to the stuff she poisoned him with and then Tori gave him another dose of it unaware of his allergy?” Willow teased.  
“Wow, once again with a swing and a miss from Tori.” Brydee chuckled.  
“If you’re both going to start berating Tori I’m going to have to put my foot down.” Alex chimed in.  
“Oh speaking of, remember when that weirdo stabbed you in the leg? Good thing Tori decided not to come back yet, you had Alex to save you that time and unlike Tori she knew almost immediately what was causing you immense pain.” Willow pointed out.  
“Wait, what?” Brydee asked.  
“A couple of weeks before you got here one of the residents here went missing, I went in to arrest her kidnapper and he stabbed me. The pain was excruciating, Alex saved my life.” Colby informed.  
“Well well Doctor Alex once again saving the day and saving us all from Tori-” Brydee started.  
“Alright, that’s enough from the both of you. Tori is a fine Doctor and you really shouldn’t-” Alex tried saying.  
“She literally stopped Raffy from getting the help she needed, she let the hospital throw Mason under the bus and never even tried to help him.” Willow said, cutting Alex off.  
“Hold on, she what?” Brydee asked.  
“Yep, her little sister was having seizures and she refused to put her on a CBD trial AKA the only thing that was helping her. Mason illegally obtained it and later got arrested but the point is, Alex waltzed on in and in two minutes did more for Mason’s career than Tori ever did. And that’s just a fact.” Willow said, she sarcastically made a “mic drop” motion causing Brydee to laugh.  
“Well.. Willow kind of has a point there.” Colby stated.  
“It’s settled, Alex is far superior to Tori and Summer Bay are in way better hands now that she’s taking over.” Brydee said proudly.  
“Hold on, taking over?” Colby asked.  
“Oh, whoops.” Brydee looked down at her feet, guiltily.  
“It’s okay, it’s not like it’s a secret. I just haven’t gotten around to telling people. Tori officially stepped down, she wants to spend time with her family and she recommended me and the board were more than happy with me taking over so yep, you’re looking at the new head of emergency at Northern Districts.” Alex said, she tried not to sound too proud but she couldn’t contain the excitement in her voice.  
“Congratulations, Alex! That’s great news, we need to celebrate!” Colby said excitedly.  
“I should be getting the contract any day now so how about after I sign them we can celebrate?” Alex offered.  
“I’m all for celebrating Alex.” Brydee said cheekily.  
“Here here.” Willow agreed. Alex chuckled, she shook her head.  
“I should probably go, I have early rounds tomorrow.” Alex explained.  
“Let us know how it all goes, you can’t escape the celebrations.” Colby joked.  
“I will, goodnight.” Alex said, she smiled softly at Willow and Brydee before walking away.


	77. Chapter 77

“So, Alex is sticking around.” Colby said aloud.  
“I’m glad your memory is intact, it’s been what, two minutes since she told you?” Willow mocked. Brydee chuckled.  
“I’m just saying, you have a chance to fix things.” Colby told her. Willow’s smile dropped, she hadn’t told Colby about everything going on with Alex and her. Colby was usually the person she would talk to about this but she couldn’t bring herself to, it felt too private. That and she didn’t want to break Alex’s trust, it had taken a lot for her to open up to Willow. She sighed.  
“He’s got a point and before you jump down my throat I don’t necessarily mean fix the relationship more so that having her around will mean you get the chance to build up that strong foundation again.” Brydee explained. Willow’s heart warmed at Brydee’s words, her best friend was truly the kindest and caring person.  
“God you two are so soft it’s sickening.” Willow joked.  
“You love us.” Brydee stated, smiling brightly at Willow. Colby put an arm around each of them and squeezed.  
“I’m glad to have you both here.” He stated.  
“You’d be lost without us.” Willow said.  
“You might be right.” Colby laughed.  
“If you swing by the gym tomorrow you’ll get to see me kick Brydee’s butt.” Willow teased.  
“Or you’ll get to see me wipe that smirk off her face.” Brydee chimed back.  
“So what I’m hearing is if I stop by the gym tomorrow I’m going to see a full on war break out? Sorry, Pillow fights are my kind of party.” Colby joked.  
“I’m down.” Brydee said, looking to Willow.  
“You’re on.” Willow agreed.  
“Hold on, down for what? Is a pillow fight actually happening? Oh my-” Colby asked, flustered.  
“You should see your face.” Willow laughed.  
“Yeah you might want to just-” Brydee said as she took her hand and wiped at the corner of his mouth, Willow howled with laughter. Colby slapped her hand away.  
“I was not drooling.” He stated.  
“You kinda were.” Brydee teased.  
“Don’t worry Colby, if we were to actually pillow fight in our pj’s I’m pretty sure Brydee would be the one drooling.” Willow jabbed.  
“Oi!” Brydee exclaimed.  
“Oh so you aren’t daydreaming about the idea?” Willow asked.  
“Well I… Shut up.” Brydee said.  
“Hey that’s my line!” Willow shot back.  
“Fight Fight Fight!” Colby cheered. Brydee gave Willow a look before smirking. They tackled Colby to the ground and started tickling him.  
“ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, TRUCE, YOU WIN!” Colby yelled through his forced laughter.  
“And don’t you forget it.” Willow said smugly.  
“You’d think after all these years you’d have built up a tolerance to tickling, seeing as you’re a cop and all but no, still as easy to submit as ever.” Brydee teased.  
“Yeah well maybe I like to submit.” Colby blurted out.  
“Wait-” He continued, realizing what he had said.  
“Oh we need to show him the chart!” Brydee said excitedly.  
“Dear god no. We just found out more than enough.” Willow said painfully.  
“What chart?” Colby asked.  
“Lawful, Neutral-” Brydee started explaining.  
“OH, Mac showed me one of those a while back. Neutral Vers.” He stated without skipping a beat. Brydee nodded in deep thought.  
“Why are you thinking so hard on it?” Willow asked her, amused.  
“I’m connecting the dots.” Brydee said, she whipped out her phone and found the post.  
“If you’re about to go into explicit detail about Col-” Willow started.  
“Genuinely has no preference, takes it like a champ, also tops like a champ, pretty vanilla, loud during though.” Brydee read out the description the site had for neutral vers.  
“I’m going to kill you.” Willow stated.  
“All true.” Colby revealed, stunning Willow who spulttered.  
“Proud of you.” Brydee stated while patting his head.  
“What? What’s there to be proud of? Have you both lost your minds?” Willow asked, confused.  
“You’d be surprised how many men get outrageously angry if you insinuate anything about their sexuality, I like a man who can have a joke and not get worried about what anyone might think.” Brydee explained while shrugging.  
“Everybody’s got their own thing right? I like what I like, I gave up trying to prove myself to anyone a long time ago. Chelsea’s dad taught me that sometimes people just won’t like you. Plus if anyone tries to make you feel bad about your preference they aren’t worth your time.” Colby stated proudly.  
“Look at you, all sex positive.” Brydee partially teased. He winked playfully at her.  
“Right so you two are just being open about this stuff now huh?” Willow questioned.  
“Like I said, I’m glad you’re both here. I missed talking to Brydee, we get each other on another level.” Colby said admiringly.  
“Wow what am I? Chopped fucking liver?” Willow asked sarcastically.  
“Come on Will, you know I love you and I talk to you about all my problems, it’s just been nice having Brydee here as well. I forgot how easy it was being open with her.” Colby explained. Willow mulled his words over.  
“I get you, I feel the same. She has an annoying habit of being able to pull my deepest darkest secrets out of me.” Willow agreed.  
“Oh yeah, I learn all sorts of things like, did you know when Will was out of school for a few weeks back when we were 11 she actually got her Hogwarts acceptance letter and attended Hogwarts for a few weeks.” Brydee teased.  
“Guessing they kicked her out?” Colby jabbed back.  
“Ha Ha very funny.” Willow said sarcastically.  
Brydee clicked her tongue. “Unfortunately I didn’t find out which house she was sorted into.” She said, crossing her arms.  
“Come on Will tell us, which house did you get put in?” Colby asked seriously.  
“You two are the biggest children.” Willow stated.  
“Yes.” Colby and Brydee said in unison. The pair snickered.  
“She’s a Gryffindor for sure right?” Colby asked Brydee.  
“Brave and chivalrous? I would have agreed with you if not for the fact that she never took Alex out on a proper date, apparently chivalry is dead.” Brydee stated.  
“Oh Will, and you say I’m bad?” Colby teased.  
“Well, in my defense I can’t even afford to feed myself most of the time and Alex was… she was always the chivalrous one.” Willow smiled sadly at the memories.  
“She does seem the type.” Brydee agreed.  
“Do you think she’s cunning?” Colby asked Brydee. Brydee laughed.  
“No and she might seem all angry and deadly on the outside but on the inside she’s sweet and protective and..” Brydee stopped herself from continuing. “Yes she’s definitely a Gryffindor.” Brydee said, clearing her throat.  
“Clearly little miss Hufflepuff has a thing for sweet, protective, Gryffindor's.” Colby teased.  
“I’ll have you know I will rip someone's throat out if they threaten people I care about.. Or if they just happen to get on my bad side.” Brydee stated, giving Colby a look.  
“You know usually Willow is the one throwing around threats.” Colby joked.  
“How did the two Hufflepuff's of the group become cops?” Willow asked, bewildered.  
“To be fair my sector is kidnappings so one might say, I’m good at finding things.” Brydee said, smirking.  
“That doesn’t explain why Colby spent the better of 6 or so years finding Bella.” Willow dragged.  
“Oi!” Colby said.  
“She has a point, pity you didn’t have me around.” Brydee said, feigning innocence.  
“Maybe I’m a Gryffindor.” Colby offered.  
“Uhhh.” Was all willow could bring herself to say.  
“He does tend to run head first into danger without a second thought.” Brydee offered.  
“Heroic or idiotic?” Willow questioned.  
“Alright I can see I’m not winning this one.” Colby said, defeated.  
“I’d say purely based on what Brydee said you could join me in Gryffindor but I really don’t want our house associated with a klutz.” Willow teased.  
“He could be the Neville.” Brydee suggested.  
“Fine by me, he grew up to be good looking.” Colby smiled happily to himself.  
“Colby, you do realize you’re a grown up right?” Brydee asked humorously.  
“And unfortunately you’re stuck looking like you.” Willow jibbed.  
“Oh right right mock me all you want, you’re both just scared that I’m your competition.” Colby said boldly.  
“You play for both teams too?” Brydee asked in jest.  
“Well… I’ve never really thought about it. Although the thought of kissing Dean, repulses me.” Colby said.  
“The thought of kissing Dean would repulse a lot of people, don't worry.” Brydee assured him.  
“Although now that I think about it they’d definitely make a cute couple.” Brydee continued.  
“Okay the last thing we need is more of us dating Dean.” Willow pointed out. Colby laughed.  
“Even if I was into guys I don’t think he’d be my type. I do really like women though.” Colby wondered aloud.  
“For future reference if you ever need to talk about anything Brydee and I are both here for you.” Willow said seriously.  
“Yeah and if you maybe want to experiment in the future I know some great gay bars.” Brydee gave a suggestive wink.  
“Oh my god if Colby comes to the gay side we will outnumber Dean.” Willow said mischievously.  
“Did you just try to reference Star Wars?” Brydee asked.  
“Yes and?” Willow responded.  
Brydee tried to hide her smile.  
“How nerdy of you.” Colby teased.  
“Are we not a force to be reckoned with?” Willow demanded. Brydee and Colby burst into laughter.  
“While I wholeheartedly agree with you, you're stamping your foot like a child and it’s the most adorable thing.” Brydee cackled before Willow jumped onto her back, play tackling her to the ground.  
“Oh no, her bisexuality is smiting me!” Brydee cried playfully. Willow was on top of her giggling.  
“Is now the time to go get a pillow?!” Colby yelled to them. Both women collapsed into laughter.  
“You’re an idiot.” Brydee told him.  
“Cute idiot thought, right?” Colby asked.  
“Absolutely.” Brydee responded. Willow couldn’t wipe the smile from her face, she couldn’t believe how much carefree fun she was having. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen not only herself smile this much but Colby as well. She jumped on them both and wrestled them into a bearhug.


	78. Chapter 78

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happiest of birthday's to the person who inspires me to write this fanfic, you're a wonderful human who I adore. I hope your day is filled with happiness and joy and I hope I can contribute to that just a tiny bit.

Ryder had stumbled his way downstairs to make breakfast, he had the morning shift so he was up earlier than he would have liked. A knock at the door distracted him from his toast that was cooking. He opened the door to find a smiling Willow.  
“Good Morning!” Willow chirped as she walked into the Stewart’s house.  
“Is it?” Ryder said groggily.  
“Sounds like you could use this.” Willow said, handing him a coffee. He looked over at her puzzlingly.  
“You got me a coffee?” He asked rather surprisingly.  
“Well I bought everyone a coffee.” Willow explained, placing down the other bunch of cups.  
“Oh, I’ll go get Brydee.” He said. He bounced up the stairs to go and get her. As he left Willow’s line of view Alf and Martha walked through the back door, smiling at each other.  
“Willow, what a lovely surprise!” Martha said.  
“Coffee! Even lovelier surprise.” Alf remarked. Martha swatted at him.  
“Oh Alf.” She said, shaking her head.  
“I just got standard lattes.” Willow clarified.  
“Thank you.” Martha smiled at her. They both turned their heads to the stairs, they could hear voices coming from the staircase.  
“Well maybe if you didn’t hog the shower.” Brydee said.  
“Hey, it takes time and effort to look this good.” Ryder shot back.  
“I swear if you two carry on at this hour I’ll throw you both down the stairs.” They heard Roo say. Willow and Martha shared a humorous look.  
“You forgot to add the making it look like an accident part, do you not know anything about villains Roo? Gosh.” Brydee mocked.  
“Remember when I once fell down the stairs? Good times.” Ryder laughed to himself.  
“Was it?” Brydee asked seriously. Ryder sighed.  
“I miss Coco and Raffy.” He said.  
“Damn and here I was thinking I was a suitable replacement.” Brydee teased.  
“Well I dated both of them, I so don’t want to date you.” Ryder stated.  
“Ew gross.” Brydee agreed.  
“Has anyone ever told you two you’re weird?” Roo asked.  
“Yes.” They said in unison, grinning at each other.  
“Oi, take this. We gotta go.” Willow announced to Brydee, pulling her out the door.  
“Have fun!” Ryder yelled sarcastically.  
“Oh I will.” Willow smirked evilly.  
“I wasn’t aware I ordered an uber.” Brydee said from the passenger seat.  
“I didn’t want you to walk before we have a big session, plus I know you don’t like asking everyone for help so I thought I’d take the initiative.” Willow explained.  
“Thanks, nerd.” Brydee said, she tried to hide her grateful smile.  
“You love it.” Willow stated. Brydee wasn’t about to argue with her.  
“So what’s on the agenda for today?” Brydee asked.  
“It’s probably better if you don’t know.” Willow said.  
“Well that sounds terrifying.” Brydee noted.  
Willow chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to push you too much.” Willow admitted.  
“I’ll hold you to that.” Brydee said playfully.

“Took your time.” Jasmine said jokingly.  
“I had to pick this one up.” Willow nodded towards Brydee.  
“My bad.” Brydee said innocently.  
“Ah, it’s your first session right? Are you worried?” Jasmine asked.  
“No, I trust Willow.” Brydee said confidently. Willow smirked at Jasmine.  
“Come and find me after the session and we’ll see how you feel then.” Jasmine teased.  
“If I can still walk you owe me a drink.” Brydee suggested.  
“Ha, you’re on.” Jasmine said cockily. She walked out with a massive grin on her face. Brydee turned back to Willow.  
“You have to make sure I can still walk after.” Brydee told her.  
“Don’t worry B, I’m not about to rock your world.” Willow said suggestively. She winked at Brydee.  
“Well shit, I sure hope not. There’s people watching.” Brydee threw back.  
“Doesn’t like an audience, noted.” Willow pretended to jot down.  
“Alright let’s get this show on the road.” Brydee said impatiently. Willow chuckled.  
“You know you could basically run this yourself right?” Willow said.  
“Yes, but you’re the big boss.” She pointed out.  
“What’s the first thing you’d have me do?” Willow asked. Brydee crossed her arms over her chest, Willow really was about to make her do her own lesson. She sighed.  
“Stretches, no matter how small of a workout you should always stretch.” Brydee said.  
“Yep, come on Jasmine set up mats for us.” Willow said, motioning to follow her.

“Gotta say B, I’m impressed.” Willow remarked.  
“Of what exactly? The fact that I’ve run my own lesson or your inability to teach a lesson?” Brydee jabbed.  
Willow laughed. “That you really do know what you’re doing. If you wanted to we actually could use you as a trainer. You should think about it. Having you around every day wouldn’t be so bad.” Willow teased.  
“My qualifications range from Federal government training to being smacked over the back of the head with a rock by a kid.” Brydee joked.  
“Let’s be real, if I saw that on a CV I’d totally hire them.” Willow said.  
“Of course you would, who put you in charge again? They’re barking. Oh, right. It was Robbo, he always did love a good rebel.” Brydee stated. Willow sticked her tongue out at her.  
“I was lucky to have met him, he helped turn my life around.” Willow said, reminiscing.  
“We’ll have to have that drink Jasmine owes me, for him.” Brydee said.  
“You’re basically having a drink for him that he inadvertently paid for.” Willow pointed out.  
“So, the best kind.” Brydee teased.  
“Not wrong. Best drinks a free drink.” Willow agreed.  
“You’re lucky you’re gorgeous, you would have never survived your twenties otherwise.” Brydee teased.  
“I’d argue but damn, you’re right. I lived those younger twenties through free drinks from desperate men.” Willow said, laughing.  
“What are you two laughing about?” Jasmine asked.  
“Ah, Jasmine. Glad you’ve returned, I was just telling Willow how much my legs can in fact, still walk themselves.” Brydee said sarcastically.  
“And the session is over?” Jasmine pouted.  
“Yeah, sorry Jazzy.” Willow said sympathetically.  
“If it makes you feel any better we are cheersing Robbo with the drink you now owe me.” Brydee said.  
“Are we now, and why is that?” She asked curiously.  
“Because Willow basically owes him for everything he did for her and he was a good lad.” Brydee stated.  
“Can you call someone a lad when they’re older than you?” Jasmine asked.  
“You can, if you’re me.” Brydee said. Jasmine laughed.  
“I’d love to see his face if you told him that.” She retorted.  
“Honestly, he might have thrown me from the balcony.” Brydee pointed out.  
“Well either way, I’ll gladly cheers to Robbo. Shall we go up now and have a drink?” Jasmine offered.  
“That depends, can Willow join us?” Brydee asked.  
“Well seeing as she was only coming in today for your session, yeah I’d say she can.” Jasmine said.  
“Wait, what?” Brydee asked her.  
“What, what?” Willow asked, confused.  
“Today was your day off?” She asked.  
“Technically yes.” Willow answered.  
“Why not book me in on oh I don’t know, days you don’t have off.” Brydee asked sarcastically.  
“I’m fully booked. What can I say, people love me kicking their butts.” Willow shrugged. Brydee sighed.  
“Next time just fit me in later or something, I don’t mind working out at 10 oclock at night if it means you get a day to yourself.” Brydee pointed out.  
“Keen to get me after hours huh?” Willow teased. Brydee rolled her eyes.  
“Yeah and we should also make the sessions in the showers.” Brydee said sarcastically.  
“You know that’s not a bad idea.” Willow mused.  
“It is a horrible idea, imagine the slipping and people would tear and break all sorts of things.” Brydee said seriously. Willow snickered.  
“You just love making things serious don’t you?” Willow questioned.  
“Hey, when you fall and land awkwardly and everyone gets hurt you’ll know why I’m serious when it comes to shower sex.” Brydee said nonchalantly.  
“Hold on, there’s a story there.” Jasmine pointed out.  
“No way, there’s no way you’ve had shower sex and gotten injured. The Brydee Devin I know would never.” Willow said mockingly.  
“I’ll have you know that I did in fact do that and it was purely because everyone else was doing cool sex stuff and we were just being normal and boring and let me tell you after that incident I realized normal and boring is my way of life, it’s simple and it’s safe and I for one don’t want to be responsible for accidentally breaking- it doesn’t matter. You aren’t getting the story out of me.” Brydee stated.  
“I’ll just have to get Alex to ask.” Willow teased.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brydee asked. Willow raised her eyebrow at the shocking tone in Brydee’s voice.  
“Oh come on, like you wouldn’t tell her in a heartbeat.” Willow said.  
“I wouldn’t! It’s personal.” Brydee defended.  
“You love opening up to Alex, admit it.” Willow challenged.  
“Okay, maybe I do but anything she knows about me you would already know.. At least as far as I can remember.” Brydee admitted.  
“So she doesn’t know anything I don’t know?” Willow asked.  
“No and if she does I genuinely don’t remember. Cop, check. Lance, check. Jai, check. Every guy Willow has dated being an idiot, check.” Brydee teased.  
“Justin wasn’-” Willow stopped herself due to the look on Brydee’s face, she wasn’t about to tell Willow just how moronic that dude is again.  
“I’ve told Alex secrets yes, but everything she knows about me, you do too. I’d say you have a more indepth look at how much I struggle with playing music now. You’re my best friend, Will.” Brydee said genuinely.  
“Well in that case, spill.” Willow dared.  
“Get a few drinks in me first and then maybe I will. Maybe!” She called after Willow who was already running up the stairs to Salt to order drinks.


	79. Chapter 79

“Come on slowpoke!” Willow called out to her from the bar, Mac looked past Willow to see Brydee, she beamed at her.  
“Brydee! Willow tells me we are getting our drink on?” Mac said happily.  
“Any occasion, right?” Brydee smiled.  
“I believe you owe me a drink.” Mac said suggestively.  
“And Jasmine now owes me a drink, sometimes luck is on my side.” Brydee said cheerfully.  
“I didn’t know luck followed you around at all.” Mac mocked.  
“You get whacked once and no one lets you forget it.” Brydee joked.  
“What would be the fun in that?” Mac teased.  
“Less talk, more drinking.” Willow said as she threw back a shot of vodka.  
“You heard the woman.” Mac said, handing Brydee a shot for herself.  
“I’m going to regret this.” Brydee said before taking her shot.

The four women had been drinking steadily for close to two hours, Brydee could feel the alcohol working its way through her system. She was glad she was seated and not up dancing like Willow was, she was pretty sure the alcohol would hit her ten fold if she were to stand.  
“So, how are you doing? I know I was joking earlier but it mustn't have been easy.” Mac asked.  
“I was lucky to have people around me who cared and looked after me. I don’t think I would have gotten through these last few weeks without the Stewart’s and Alex. God, she’s literally been the best through it.” Brydee admitted.  
“She cares, I’ve always known Alex to be someone who has complete control of every situation and of herself but when I got there, to you.. She was barely with it, it was terrifying to see her like that.” Mac admitted.  
“I’ve heard the emergency call, she sounded quite put together but the way she tells it, much to how you have, she definitely struggled. I feel horrible.” Brydee explained.  
“Don’t feel horrible for someone caring about you Brydee, Alex has had to perform some miracles here but I don’t think she’s had to face something like that before and you.. You’re kind of everyone's exception.” Mac said.  
“What do you mean?” Brydee asked, she was confused by what Mac had said.  
“Well most of us barely know you yet we were all devastated, sure it’s a small town and your good deed to Ryder got you in with the locals but you were the talk of the town. People who had never even met you talked about you like they’d known you for years. It was remarkable really, you should be proud.” Mac chuckled. Brydee was overwhelmed with the information Mac had told her, she didn’t realize that she had been the talking point of the town.  
Mac snickered.  
“Only you would get embarrassed that people cared enough to talk.” Mac teased.  
“I think people just like to talk about the drama.” Brydee pointed out.  
“Yeah you have a point, there were a few people who said they knew sooner or later Bella would snap.” Mac sighed.  
“And I bet you none of them tried to get her help.” Brydee said, annoyed.  
“You really do just want to help her don’t you.” Mac stated emotionally.  
Brydee sighed. “I hope she and everyone else won’t mistake my compassion for ignorance. She won’t be getting off lightly, she just needs help. People don’t seem to realize there’s a difference between prison and mental health facilities.” Brydee said honestly.  
“Hopefully they can help her, she needs it.” Mac said sourly.  
“I take it you’re with Alex on her stance against Bella.” Brydee assumed.  
“She tried to burn down my restaurant.” Mac pointed out.  
“Fair point. I wonder if you’ll be asked to testify.” Brydee wondered aloud.  
“I hope not.” Mac said wearily.  
“I’ll ask around and try to make that not happen. I think the less testimonies we have the easier it will be to get the lesser conviction, though there’s a high possibility our team will want the opposite. The more evidence we have to suggest she’s unstable the better our chances are.” Brydee explained.  
“Do you know when the court date is?” Mac asked.  
“Not yet and to be honest the thought of that makes me realize how quickly I’m sobering up.” Brydee remarked. Mac chuckled.  
“Alright enough Bella talk, I’ll get us some more drinks.” Mac stated.

“Ryder!” Brydee exclaimed.  
“Brydee, you look like you’ve been having fun.” He pointed out.  
“Have you been here all night?” She questioned.  
“No. Mac called me when she decided to get her drink on with you lot, I got here not too long ago.” Ryder explained.  
“Ohhhh, so you can’t drink with us?” Brydee asked.  
“Noo, it’s girls night!” Willow yelled as she slunk her arm over Brydee’s shoulders. Brydee laughed at the awkward stance Willow was having to make to do that.  
“What are you laughing about?” Willow slurred.  
“You, trying to act tall. It’s hilarious.” Brydee explained.  
“I’m not short. I’m fun size.” Willow smiled at her, very much drunk.  
“Mmm chocolate.” Brydee said in a drunken slur.  
“Are you calling me a chocolate bar?” Willow asked, mockingly.  
“No I’m calling you sweet, silly.” Brydee clarified.  
“Now I want chocolate!” Willow yelled.  
“Let’s get chocolate.” Brydee suggested.  
“Okay, where? It’s like super late.” Willow pointed out. Brydee leant across the bar and grabbed Ryder by his shirt.  
“Do you have chocolate?” She whispered. He laughed.  
“No and it’s probably not a good idea for you two to go wandering around.” He pointed out.  
“Psssh, what would you know.” Willow slurred..  
“I know when someone’s had too much.” Ryder said warningly.  
“Alright alright.” Willow backed off.  
“Do you think Alex would have chocolate?” Brydee asked Willow.  
“Oh that is really not a good idea.” Ryder said.  
“She does like chocolate!” Willow said.  
“SQUAD ROLL OUT!” Brydee yelled.  
“Where are we rolling?” Jasmine asked as she approached.  
“Alex’s, we think she’s keeping the chocolate from us.” Willow wrongly explained.  
“That doesn’t sound like Alex.” Jasmine defended, she was more drunk than Willow and Brydee.  
“Covert mission to steal Alex’s chocolate, are you in or not Delaney?” Brydee asked.  
“Who needs chocolate when there’s alcohol?” Mac piped up.  
“I’m with Mac, plus there’s chocolate liqueur!” Jasmine said cheerfully.  
“Suit yourselves, Brydee and I will rob Alex of her chocolate.” Willow declared.  
“I’m not sure you should be robbing your ex girlfriend.” Ryder pointed out.  
“Don’t worry if she catches us, I’m cool with her.” Brydee assured.  
“Yeah! And we are still good friends anyway.” Willow stated.  
“So why are you stealing from her?” Ryder asked.  
“BECAUSE SHE’S HIDING THE CHOCOLATE RYDER KEEP UP!” Brydee yelled.  
“Alright well, goodluck.” Ryder snickered.  
“I don’t need luck, I’m a federal agent, remember?” Brydee smirked.  
“Okay big bad federal agent, call me if you need to be picked up.” Ryder offered.  
“Pfffft we don’t need a babysitter.” Willow remarked. Ryder raised his eyebrow at her, clearly they did.  
“Operation fun size, commencing in T-minus 2 minutes.” Brydee whispered.  
“Why can’t we just start it now?” Willow slurred back.  
“Because I need to pee first, silly.” Brydee replied.  
“Oh, good call!” Willow said as they both made their way towards the restroom.  
“Do you think we should call Alex and warn her?” Ryder asked Jasmine and Mac.  
“We could, but where would be the fun in that?” Mac asked mischievously.


	80. Chapter 80

“Shhhh! You’re so loud.” Brydee whispered. They had reached Alex’s place in record time.  
“It’s not my fault, I wasn’t trained to sneak around like a freaking cat!” Willow whispered back.  
“Isn’t it a mouse?” Brydee asked.  
“Focus Devin.” Willow said.  
“Right, I take it you know how to pick a lock still?” Brydee asked her.  
“Of course.” Willow huffed proudly.  
“Well, get to it.” Brydee said impatiently.  
“Don’t you think we should sneak through a window? That’s more stealthy and badass.” Willow pointed out.  
“It also causes more noise and the racket you would make stumbling through the window? No thank you.” Brydee said sarcastically.  
“Your loss, you’ve missed an opportunity to graciously help me through the window.” Willow teased.  
“You say it like the window is an amazing opportunity.” Brydee noted, confused.  
“You’d get to grab my butt.” Willow explained. She smiled brightly at Brydee’s shocked expression.  
“Oh. I.. Well.. that’s.. Completely besides the point.” Brydee stammered.  
“You’re right, I don’t need you to be a complete mess while we rob Alex.” Willow stated.  
“I’m not a mess.” Brydee shot back.  
“Sure you aren’t Brydee, definitely didn’t start sweating.” Willow teased.  
“I didn’t. You know not everyone has sex on the forefront of their mind right?” Brydee asked.  
“Oh honey, I’m well aware. I need to spell it out to you almost always, you’re lucky it’s charming and makes you extra cute.” Willow said, she touched Brydee’s face gently.  
“Stop that, we are on a mission and I don’t need you flustering me.” Brydee stated.  
“So you’re admitting I fluster you?” Willow asked innocently. Brydee shot her a glare.  
“If it will shut you up? Yes.” Brydee answered. Willow smirked victoriously.

Alex was standing on the other side of the door, listening in to the drunken conversation happening outside her home. She had to stifle her laughter when she heard Willow start flirting with Brydee, poor Brydee she thought to herself. She was thankful Ryder had kindly given her the heads up on “operation fun size”. Alex made sure she did in fact have chocolate stocked in her cupboard before waiting by the door for the pair to attempt to break in.

“I thought you were a good criminal, this display is abysmal.” Brydee teased.  
“No, I’m a horrible criminal. Why do you think I always got caught? I was good at beating guys up for money though and digging dirt on people but actual crimes, no I suck at.” Willow admitted.  
“Let me show you how it’s done.” Brydee said confidently.  
“Or.” Brydee and Willow looked up as the door swung open.  
“You could knock and I’d let you in.” Alex concluded.  
“Alex!” Brydee and Willow yelled. They knocked their heads together accidentally, causing Alex to chuckle at them.  
“We weren’t breaking in.” Brydee lied.  
“Hand over the chocolate!” Willow yelled. Brydee shot her a look.  
“Oh right I mean yeah no we weren’t breaking in.” Willow said sheepishly.  
“So you weren’t breaking in to steal my chocolate?” Alex asked.  
“So you admit it.” Brydee noted, the cop in her had come out.  
“Do I admit to having chocolate in the comfort of my own home? Yes Brydee Devin, wonderful detective work.” Alex teased.  
“Oi, only I can mock her.” Willow stated.  
“Yeah!” Brydee agreed, she stumbled into the door frame.  
“Come in and sit down before you two tear down the door.” Alex motioned for them to come inside.  
Willow leaned into Brydee’s ear.  
“Is it stealing if she willingly gives it to us?” Willow whispered.  
“The stealing isn’t what matters, if we get the chocolate Operation Fun Size will be a success. Eye on the prize.” Brydee whispered back.  
“If you keep whispering I’ll not give you any.” Alex said seriously. Willow and Brydee giggled.  
“How did you know we were here?” Brydee asked.  
“Ryder text.” Alex said.  
“That little snitch.” Willow said in a hushed voice.  
“Don’t you dare go giving Ryder grief. If he hadn't told me I most likely would have attacked you both had you successfully broken into my house.” Alex explained.  
“She has a good point, it was a bit idiotic of us..” Brydee trailed off.  
“Nothing is idiotic when chocolate is involved.” Willow said firmly. Brydee nodded enthusiastically, changing her tune quickly.  
“And what if I refuse?” Alex asked.  
“We’ll tie you up.” Brydee said matter of factly. Alex and Willow’s eyes shot open, smirks played on both their lips.  
“Is that so?” Alex questioned suggestively.  
“Wait, hold on no no. That wasn’t-” Brydee giggled. “It wasn’t meant to be dirty.” She continued to giggle.  
“Alex does like to roleplay.” Willow snickered.  
“Alright that’s enough out of you.” Alex said.  
“Quick let’s find some rope!” Brydee said.  
“You don’t need to do that, you’re more than welcome to my chocolate stash.” Alex informed them.  
“Ha! We won! Operation Fun Size has been successful!” Willow declared.  
“Why fun size?” Alex questioned their operation name.  
“Because Willow is short.” Brydee smirked.  
“I TOLD YOU I’M FUN SIZE, I WILL COME OVER THERE AND-” Willow yelled, she jumped onto Brydee and started wrestling her. Alex stood watching them, unsure if she was concerned or amused.  
“How much did you drink exactly?” Alex asked. Brydee and Willow started counting on their hands, they got to ten and Brydee started doing jazz hands at Willow, laughing.  
“Too much then.” Alex noted.  
“Noooo, I can still walk.” Willow defended.  
“You tripped at least 6 times on the way here.” Brydee said.  
“Shut..” Willow wrestled to put her hands over Brydee’s mouth, she was still on top of Brydee so she had the upper hand. “Up.” Willow successfully covered her mouth. Willow watched Brydee’s eyes take on a cheeky glint before she felt her palm get wet.  
“You did not just lick me!” Willow yelped. Brydee giggled.  
“That’s what you get for trying to silence me.” Brydee stated.  
“Here, now both of you cut it out before someone gets hurt.” Alex said, handing them both some chocolate and removing Willow from atop Brydee.  
“Yeah, Willow.” Brydee poked her tongue out at her.  
“I’ll steal your chocolate if you aren’t careful.” Willow stated. Brydee made a shocked noise.  
“No you won’t.” Alex said sternly.  
“Ha ha, Alex is on my side.” Brydee said with a massive smirk. Brydee had latched her arms around Alex’s waist, drawing her in so Brydee could cuddle into her. Brydee didn’t realize she was subconsciously drawing patterns on Alex’s exposed stomach. Alex felt her body heat up.  
“There’s no sides, I just won’t let her steal your well earned portion. You did pull off operation fun size after all.” Alex pointed out playfully. She managed to sneak out of Brydee’s arms without drawing attention, she took a deep breath, steadying herself.  
“I’m done, more please.” Willow softly demanded, pouting at Alex.  
“Don’t even try it.” Alex said warningly.  
“Try what?” Willow said, she trailed her hand up Alex’s arm.  
“That.” Alex said. She had taken Willow’s hand and held it up, she pushed the woman backwards until she fell back into the couch next to Brydee. A fire had definitely been lit in Alex and she was doing all she could to extinguish it but Willow and Brydee were making it harder for her.  
“Now I know how Colby felt.” Brydee noted.  
“What?” Alex asked, confused.  
“Except now I’m drunk and I’m most definitely up for a pyjama party and pillow fight.” Willow said mischievously.  
“Ohhh kay, I think it’s time for you two to go to bed.” Alex pointed out.  
“Who needs sleep when there’s pillow fights to be had.” Brydee argued.  
“I didn’t think women actually did that? It was just a thing gross men put in movies as fantasy-” Alex was saying as Willow grabbed the couch pillow and whacked her with it.  
“Oh my god.” Brydee said in shock before bursting into laughter, she fell off the couch in the process. Part of Alex wanted nothing more than to put the two of them in their place but she was worried about what that might entail, they were both way too drunk and she knows what Willow is like when she’s that drunk, she likes to make moves and she wasn’t sure she could handle anyone making moves tonight, no matter how much she wanted that in this moment. Between Brydee’s suggestive flirting and Willow’s blatant flirting Alex was having a hard time not being attracted to the both of them. She needed to push all of her thoughts and feelings aside and take care of the two of them, she hadn’t realized just how drunk they were when Ryder was explaining things but now she was well aware and she knew she had to control the situation before it got completely out of hand.  
“Okay, you’ve had your fun. Bed, the both of you.” Alex said sternly. Brydee giggled.  
“Are you joining us?” Willow asked. Brydee got back up, apparently interested to hear Alex’s response.  
“No, you two can have my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.” Alex told them.  
“Nah.” Willow slurred.  
“Not going to happen.” Brydee said at the same time. Alex sighed.  
“Well you aren’t leaving and it’s way too late for me to be taking you both back home.” Alex said.  
“That’s okay, Will and I will take the couch. Oh, unless you want to sleep with Alex?” Brydee asked suggestively. Willow smirked but Alex noticed her smirk didn’t quite meet the normal mischievous it usually would. It dawned on Alex that Willow was sobering up and realizing the situation for what it was, Brydee on the other hand was incredibly drunk still.  
“But then who will help you in 2 hours time when you inevitably wake up to vomit?” Willow asked.  
“Okay, good point. I do have a sensitive stomach.” Brydee agreed.  
“Exactly, I’ll stay out here with you. We can let Alex sleep in peace.” Willow clarified. She looked over at Alex and gave her a small smile, 5 minutes ago the alcohol coursing through her veins was having a delightful time teasing both Alex and Brydee but Willow noticed a couple of minutes ago Alex’s demeanour had changed, Willow knew Alex prided herself on being chivalrous and she always did the right thing. Willow mentally chastised herself for teasing her, she hadn’t considered how hard it would be having both herself and Brydee in the mix. She could feel the alcohol still heavily influencing her but she could handle her alcohol, sure she let it take over and have some fun especially with Brydee but she could always reel it back in when needed, Brydee on the other hand was completely gone. Willow could see how hard Alex was trying to make them both sleep and in turn keep them safe so Willow decided to help her instead of make her life harder. She knew Brydee wasn’t a bad drunk, she got a bit more bold and obnoxious but in a very loving sort of way, she’s the type of drunk that would step in to help a friend in a fight but most likely end up cuddling the person trying to fight. Willow giggled at the thought.  
“What are you giggling about?” Brydee asked, she had already buried her head into the crook of Willow’s neck.  
“I was just thinking how much more cuddly you are when you’re drunk.” Willow admitted. Brydee hopped off her.  
“Am not.” Brydee stated, crossing her arms defiantly. Alex brought them out some pillows and a blanket.  
“Alex, tell her I’m not a cuddly drunk.” Brydee whined.  
“Apparently you’re a whiner when drunk too, I thought that was just when you were sleepy.” Alex noted. Brydee yawned.  
“I’m not sleepy.” Brydee stated as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep almost instantly.  
“Wow.” Willow said in amusement.  
“I told you. It’s rather adorable.” Alex admitted. Willow chuckled.  
“Can’t argue with that. I’m sorry by the way, I didn’t mean for.. Well.. it was just a bit of fun and I didn’t really think it through.” Willow stumbled over her words.  
“What are you sorry for?” Alex asked, genuinely curious.  
“Not realizing sooner, I shouldn’t have added to the mess Brydee had already put you in a state of.” Willow admitted.  
Alex scoffed. “I wasn’t in a state.” She defended.  
“Oh no? So you definitely weren’t turned on when Brydee touched you?” Willow asked cheekily.  
“Willow.” Alex warned.  
“Al relax, she is a heavy sleeper. I wouldn’t talk about it if I thought there was a chance she was listening. Watch, Oi, B.” Willow shook Brydee. Brydee groaned.  
“Devin.” Willow said louder, she poked her this time. Willow felt slight pain jolt through her arm, she heard Alex burst into laughter. She looked down and saw Brydee, completely unconscious, biting her arm.  
“Okay, point taken.” Alex admitted.  
“Well good because damn, took one for the team. Ouch.” Willow said, chuckling.  
“Okay, maybe you were right. You don’t have to apologize for my body though.” Alex pointed out.  
“I’m not, I’m apologizing because instead of defusing the situation I made it worse. I’d blame the alcohol on making my brain fuzzy and enjoying watching you be flustered but we both know that’s a lie.” Willow admitted.  
“Do we?” Alex asked.  
“The alcohol didn’t help but I knew what I was doing. I wanted to..” Willow trailed off.  
“I know. So did I, telling my body to shut up was harder than usual, that’s for sure.” Alex joked.  
“Tomorrow is going to be fun.” Willow pointed out.  
“Think she’ll be embarrassed?” Alex asked.  
“No, I don’t think she even realized what she was doing.” Willow said.  
Alex sighed. “Yeah, I got the feeling she was absentmindedly doing it.”  
“Do you have to be up early? I’m sorry I didn’t think at all.” Willow shook her head.  
“Willow, it’s okay. If I hadn’t wanted you and Brydee to come over I would have asked Ryder to stop you both. And no, I have the night shift.” Alex clarified.  
“Maybe we can make up for it by taking you out to breakfast?” Willow offered.  
“Let’s see how you both pull up first, I think Brydee may need a sleep in.” Alex smiled.  
Willow huffed in amusement. “Yeah you’re probably right. I might try and get some sleep.” Willow said softly.  
“Okay, goodnight Willow.” Alex said quietly.  
“Night Al.” Willow whispered. She nestled herself into Brydee’s side, she slung her arm across Brydee’s torso and hummed in content. Alex made her way over to the fridge, she got out 2 bottles of water and grabbed some medicine and placed it all on the table next to the couch for them, just in case they both awoke before she did.


	81. Chapter 81

Alex ended up waking rather early, she would usually roll over and try to get more sleep but the thought of the two women out on her couch made her get up. She wasn’t sure if they would still be there or not, if it was just Willow who had rocked up after a drunken night out Alex would have expected her to bail before Alex got up, that was just typical Willow. But Brydee, Alex didn’t think Brydee would have it in her to actually leave someone's house without saying goodbye or thank you, she smiled warmly at the thought. She was almost positive they would both be out there still, Brydee would see to that. Alex was quite surprised however to find them both still fast asleep. Alex sighed in content at the picture laid out in front of her. Willow was sprawled out, half on top of Brydee and half into her side. Brydee’s arms were held protectively around Willow’s sleeping form. They both looked peaceful in each other’s arms. Alex couldn’t help but feel adoration when she looked at them both, the logical side of Alex’s brain was gnawing at her, it was demanding questions to be answered. Like why she didn’t feel jealous in the slightest that she wasn’t in either of their arms. Alex knew one day she would need to give herself answers to those questions she had but for right now she was taking comfort in how beautiful and peaceful both women looked in that moment.

Alex put the kettle on, she knew Willow would be hankering for a coffee when she woke up. She wasn’t sure if Brydee was a coffee person or not, small details like finding out if she preferred tea or coffee made Alex slightly excited, usually she would have scolded herself for enjoying such small things but Brydee, although calm and collected tended to be a wild card and Alex enjoyed every moment of getting to know her. She breathed in her coffee and sighed, she walked out onto the back balcony, wanting to give Brydee and Willow some time to wake up. She didn’t want to be hovering over them when they did wake, as much as she would have loved to sit there and smile giddily at them both curled up together, she decided the view from her balcony would be enough to suffice, the ocean looked beautiful from there. She chuckled to herself at the thought of Brydee and Willow drunkenly making their way up the hill to her place. Much like the rest of the residents of Summer Bay, she wasn’t too far from the central hub but the last street before hers was quite a hill, it flattened out on her street which she was thankful for. Alex didn’t mind the trek up the hill, it gave her some form of exercise on her days off when she would walk everywhere. But she wouldn’t have liked to live on the hill, she much preferred even ground. The hospital on the other hand was too far to walk, usually she would have gotten a place closer to the hospital but she was thankful she had been won over by the ocean view of this place. She tried to make the excuse of being close to everything beneficial for situations like last night but Alex knew better, she knew neither Willow or Brydee would drink and drive. Which is why deep down she knew she was grateful she lived close by. Otherwise Brydee and Willow wouldn’t have tried to sneak over and although last night had been difficult for Alex, she wouldn’t have had it any other way. She was glad however, that no one had done anything they could have potentially regretted.

Brydee groaned, causing Willow to stir.  
“Keep it down would you?” Willow asked sarcastically.  
“My mouth.” Brydee groaned. Willow opened her eyes, Brydee’s arms were still wrapped around her. She moved her head slightly to check the side table and thankfully Alex had left them both some water and medicine.  
“Here, drink up.” Willow said, grabbing the drinks. She pulled Brydee’s upper body up so she didn’t choke.  
“What would I do without you?” Brydee said sarcastically.  
“Alex is partially responsible for keeping you alive, she provided the water.” Willow remarked.  
“Oh god.” Brydee said, she whipped her head around way too fast to take in her surroundings. She groaned at the throbbing headache.  
Willow snickered. “Lightweight.”  
“We didn’t actually break in did we? Does she know we’re here? She’d have to, if she left us water.” Brydee started rambling.  
“B, chill. Ryder let her know we were on our way. She made sure we were okay and sent us to bed.” Willow explained, chuckling.  
“How very Doctor of her.” Brydee chuckled with her. She put both the waters back onto the table and laid back down, pulling Willow back down with her.  
“I thought the cuddling would wear off once the alcohol left your system.” Willow noted.  
“You do realize it takes quite a while for alcohol to do that right?” Brydee pointed out.  
“I usually bounce back by morning.” Willow stated.  
“Bouncing back is different to blood alcohol levels-” Brydee started to say. They heard a chuckle coming from the back door.  
“Alex?” Willow asked.  
“Yeah, I put the kettle on. Did you want-” Alex was in the middle of asking.  
“Coffee? Yes please.” Willow said.  
“What were you giggling at?” Brydee asked.  
“You getting all nerd on Willow. She’s right you know, even if you feel fine the alcohol stays in your system for longer than you think. But you already knew that, you just chose to ignore it.” Alex smirked at Willow.  
“It’s not like I get in a car and drive after a night out.” Willow defended.  
“Good, because I’d have to arrest you.” Brydee said, half joking half serious.  
“I’m sure you’d love to put me in handcuffs.” Willow said slyly.  
“Nah, they leave nasty marks on your wrist.” Brydee replied nonchalantly. Willow burst into laughter.  
“What?” Brydee asked.  
“You’re just so adorable when you miss flirting cues.” Willow explained, she booped Brydee’s nose.  
“Oh. Ohhhhh. You know I’ve never tied anyone up before, in a sexual way at least.” Brydee said aloud. Willow raised her eyebrows.  
“There’s a first time for everything.” Willow smiled innocently.  
“I’m sure there is but I’d rather just stick to using them for arrests.” Brydee replied.  
“Soft.” Willow mocked.  
“And don’t you forget it.” Brydee poked her tongue out. Alex watched the pair banter, enjoying the moment.  
“I don’t know, I reckon I could have gotten drunk Brydee to tie someone up.” Willow teased.  
Brydee thought about what Willow said for a moment.  
“Possibly, but we both know you wouldn’t. You respect me too much to try and get me to do something I normally wouldn’t.” Brydee said. She smirked at the emotional look that fell over Willow’s face.  
“Shut up. I’m a badass.” Willow said defiantly.  
“A soft badass.” Alex piped up. Brydee clapped at Alex’s response.  
“Exactly!” Brydee chirped.  
“Oh, you want to join in? Really?” Willow challenged. Alex contemplated her question, unsure of why she was asking in a jokingly threatening way.  
“I do not want to hear about either of your kinks LALALALALA” Brydee started yelling, she flinched at the loudness of her own voice, reminding her of the splitting headache she had.  
“Here, take two.” Alex handed Brydee the meds that were on the table.  
“Thanks, I shouldn’t have drank as much as I did. What were we thinking?” She asked Willow.  
“That we wanted to have fun and let loose, we deserved it.” Willow shrugged.  
“Ah yes, I was still able to walk after our session.” Brydee said, nodding in understanding. Alex on the other hand was confused.  
“Do I.. want to know?” Alex asked. Brydee laughed at the look on Alex’s face.  
“Jasmine bet me that I wouldn’t be able to walk. Jeez what is it with you two and taking everything I say dirtily.” Brydee teased.  
“To be fair, the reason I took it that way was because of Willow.” Alex admitted.  
“Hey!” Willow exclaimed. “Yeah you’re right. I did suggest it when she originally brought it up.” Willow admitted defeat. Alex smiled proudly.  
“Ugh never let me drink that much ever again. My memory is foggy, how did I even make it here? I could still walk but I remember my legs being cactus after the session.” Brydee said. She stood up to test out her legs.  
“Ouuuch, yeah no I’m just going to lie back down. I’m fine.” Brydee grimaced. Willow swore under her breath.  
“Sorry B, I didn’t think that through.” Willow apologized.  
“Don’t apologize, it was both our idea.” Brydee assured her.  
“You should stay off your feet for a few days though, if you pushed yourself to the point of pain it’s not a good idea to be up and about. I can drop you home if you like?” Alex offered.  
“Thanks, do you need to leave any time soon?” Brydee asked her.  
“No, night shift.” Alex responded.  
Brydee yawned. “Great, I’m going to catch some more sleep.” Brydee said as her head hit the pillow.


	82. Chapter 82

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To my Valentine, I know uploading a chapter for you is kinda lame and on the nose at this point but I know how much you'll appreciate and enjoy it. Thank you for continuing to be someone special in my life, even if we aren't the normal kind of Valentine's, you're very special to me and I hope I can make your day a little bit brighter.

“Doctor Nielson!” A man called out to her as she left one of her patient’s room.  
“Doctor Stafford.” Alex greeted him.  
“We would usually do a big meeting like last time but it’s been a bit of a mad house here lately, I apologize it isn’t more formal but this here is your contract.” He apologized, handing her the contract.  
“Oh, there’s no need to apologize, trust me I get how busy it’s been.” She laughed.  
“Great. I would recommend having a Lawyer look over it, just for peace of mind. It’s just all the nonsense the board has discussed already just in writing but you’d know better than anyone how important contracts are, Alex.” He said, smiling brightly at her. He seemed overly friendly with her, Alex for the life of her couldn’t remember his first name. She managed to glance down and catch the name on his badge, it read Aaron.  
“Thanks, yeah I’ll have someone look over it. Thank you for bringing this to me, I look forward to seeing you down the halls permanently now, Aaron.” She said, smiling more to her own detective efforts. The thought made her think of Brydee, she knew Brydee would have a field day at how animated Alex would tell her the story of “figuring out Doctor Stafford’s name”.  
“Yeah, I think this place is very lucky to have you.” He said kindly. The smile on his face, Alex realized was due to him thinking she was smiling like an idiot at him when in actual fact she had been smiling because of Brydee. She really hated having to let men down, the only man to ever respond in kindness to her was Mas- Alex's thoughts cut off, she felt overwhelmed at the memory of Mason.  
“I’m sorry, I need to go.” Alex muttered as she turned on her heels and practically ran to her office.

Alex got into her office and sat down against the door, she was gasping for air. She felt pathetic for letting her emotions get the better of her. Her and Willow had always had a ball laughing and joking with Mason, he fit in with their friendship just as easily as Brydee did. Alex had never told Willow that Mason had asked her out, she didn’t deem it necessary at the beginning of their relationship and then after Mason died Alex just didn’t have it in her, it was an old forgotten memory unlike most of the other memories of men asking her out. Mason had felt embarrassed, yes, but when Alex had come out to him he was incredibly kind and sweet and shouted her multiple rounds that night to make up for his over step. She heard the sob wrack her before she knew what was happening. Tears streaming down her face Alex pulled out her phone, her two most recent calls had been Willow and Brydee, Willow had wanted to check in, it had been a couple of days since Brydee and Willow had turned up drunk at her door and Willow had had a rough day and was doubting herself, she was worried they had overstepped that night. Alex assured her everything was okay. Brydee on the other hand she had missed the call from, Brydee had picked up some lunch and walked to Alex’s, the voice mail had said she had picked up extra “just in case” and wanted to see if Alex wanted any. She informed Alex that clearly she hadn’t been home at the time so she would catch her next time. When Alex got home she found a wrapper pinned under her door mat with a note that said “IOU a burger” Alex hadn’t been able to wipe the smile off her face for the rest of the day. She had been way too busy to even call Brydee back. Panic set in, she wanted nothing more than to speak to the both of them but she knew hearing their voices would cause her to cry even harder and she didn’t want that. She decided to cry in her office until it passed.

“You ever just feel like somewhere, someone needs you?” Brydee asked Willow. They had finished up a session and Brydee had opened the laptop to start doing the numbers. Willow eyed her curiously.  
“Alex?” Willow asked softly. She had known exactly what Brydee was saying, she couldn’t seem to get the Doctor out of her head.  
“Yeah, think Jas will mind if we leave one of the others in charge?” Brydee asked her.  
“No but I don’t know.. Do you think she’d want us rocking up un announced?” Willow asked. Both Brydee and her knew what Willow was really asking.  
“Will, Alex cares about you. Of course she won’t mind. We literally tried breaking into her house drunk the other night.” Brydee pointed out.  
“Good point maybe we should call her first though? The hospital has been flat out lately.” Willow explained.  
“Sure, I’ll call her.” Brydee said. She whipped out her phone and went to Alex’s details, she laughed at the photo she had on her phone for Alex.  
“What?” Willow asked.  
“When I was in hospital I was being annoying and I kept calling her Hot Doc and then pretended to take photos of her like a pro and she slapped the phone out of my hands. I told her now she owed me an actual photo, she huffed at me so I took one anyway.” Brydee explained, showing Willow the photo of Alex with her hands on her hips glaring jokingly at her.  
“Wow you captured her essence so well.” Willow snickered. Brydee chuckled and hit call.  
“Brydee?” Alex answered. Brydee noted her voice seemed slightly higher, she wasn’t sure if it was her cop instincts kicking in or what but she knew Alex wasn’t okay.  
“Hey, Will and I were just thinking of you. How does a coffee sound?” Brydee offered.  
“Um… no.. no I’m fine. I should go-”  
“Alex, what’s wrong?” Brydee asked seriously.  
“Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine. Really.” Alex said, there was panic throughout her voice, she sounded like she had been crying. Brydee’s mind raced with a million scenarios.  
“Alex, listen to me carefully. I need you to cough if you’re in danger.” Brydee asked.  
“What? Oh, Brydee I’m-” Alex sighed. Willow had scrunched up her face at Brydee’s instructions.  
“Is she okay?” Willow mouthed. Brydee had stood up, she shrugged.  
“I really don’t know.” She mouthed back. She heard Alex try to contain a sob.  
“It’s okay Alex, whatever’s going on it’ll be okay. Just talk to me?” Brydee asked. She motioned to Willow’s keys. Willow nodded and they headed out towards Willow’s car.  
“I feel so useless, I don’t understand why I’m still not okay.” Alex cried.  
“Not okay about what?” Brydee asked quietly, she wasn’t sure if this was to do with Willow or not.  
“Mas-” Alex’s voice broke trying to say his name. Brydee turned to Willow.  
“Mason.” She mouthed at her. Understanding dawned on Willow’s face. Brydee reached into her bag, thankful she had brought it to the gym with her, she pulled out her ID and placed it on the dash.  
“We will be there soon Alex.” Brydee said, she turned to Willow.  
“Floor it.” She mouthed.  
“You don’t have to, I’ll be fine, really.” Alex lied.  
“Alex come on, it’s me you’re talking to.” Brydee pointed out. She heard Alex sob quietly.  
“I’m sorry, I just hate feeling like this.” Alex admitted.  
“Like what?” Brydee asked softly.  
“Useless, upset. I was fine and then the next second I started choking on my own tears. It hurts.” Alex said through her pain.  
“I know, we aren’t too far away now Alex. Don’t worry, we’ll be with you soon.” Brydee told her.  
“Thank you, I didn’t know what to do. I saw you and Willow’s numbers and I just panicked and I-” Alex couldn’t finish her sentence.  
“You don’t have to explain Alex, I understand. I have super powers, I could just tell you needed us.” Brydee tried to lighten the mood.  
“Good.” Alex half laughed and half sobbed.  
“You’re in your office?” Brydee asked, she had already assumed she was but if Brydee was being real with herself she knew she just wanted to keep hearing the doctors voice, to keep her talking until they got to her and could make sure she was physically okay.  
“Yeah, I ran in here.” Alex seemed to be laughing at that.  
“Hold on, you? Running? Willow get a load of this, Alex ran.” Brydee mocked.  
“Lies!!” Willow laughed out in humour. Alex chuckled loud enough that Willow heard. Brydee and Willow shared a small smile at her chuckle.


	83. Chapter 83

They reached the hospital in record time, Willow had to admit that despite the fact that she was panicking about Alex she had quite enjoyed the drive there. Having Brydee’s ID meant she could go as fast as she wanted and boy did she like to go fast. She had a huge smile plastered on her face at the sheer speed.  
“You enjoyed that way too much.” Brydee pointed out.  
“I know, I like fast cars.” Willow shrugged.  
I er, I don’t know if I should wait outside or..” Brydee trailed off.  
“No, she’ll want you there.” Willow assured her. Brydee nodded, they waited for the elevator to take them to Alex’s floor. The doors dinged open, Willow and Brydee quickly made their way down the hall.  
“Hey, what are you two doing here?” A perky Jasmine asked.  
“Emergency, don’t worry someone’s covering for us.” Brydee explained quickly. They didn’t stop to hear Jasmine’s response, Brydee saw Jasmine nod in understanding.  
“God it feels weird being back here.” Brydee noted.  
“You haven’t been back since?” Willow asked.  
“No, I’ve tried not to impose too much on Roo so without a Car I’m stuck with public transport.” Brydee explained.  
“Right, you can always ask me you know.” Willow pointed out.  
“I’d rather not, don’t want to get between you and your baby now would I?” Brydee teased.  
“I’m not that bad.” Willow defended.  
“I know, I’m just kidding. I’m surprised it’s still in good nick after all these years.” Brydee said.  
“I take way better care of it than dad did.” Willow chuckled. They reached Alex’s office, Brydee knocked.  
“Alex?” She asked. The door creaked open a little, both women made their way into the office. Alex was nowhere to be seen. Brydee felt a tugging on her pants, Alex was sitting on the floor. Brydee grabbed Willow and sat on either side of Alex and put their arms around her.  
“What happened?” Willow asked softly.  
“I got the contract..” Alex trailed off. “I cried all over it, it’s wet and I-” Alex started crying again.  
“Hey, it’s fine Alex. I’ll get a lawyer to look over it and we can get a new copy if it isn’t in good condition. Don’t stress, we can handle it.” Brydee assured her. A small smile crept on Alex’s lips. She knew now wasn’t the time to dwell on the fact that Brydee said we but she couldn’t help it, her emotions had gone haywire.  
“You mentioned Mason on the phone?” Willow asked.  
“I.. yeah..” Alex wasn’t sure how to tell them.  
“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain. We can just sit here with you.” Brydee assured her.  
“Absolutely. We’ve got you Al.” Willow said tenderly. Willow smiled over to her best friend, Brydee matched her smile. Alex laughed.  
“You know usually I’d take pride in making you laugh but this one's got me confused.” Brydee joked.  
“It’s- The Doctor who gave me the contract, he was flirting.. I think? And my brain went to Mason. He was so sweet. I never told you-” Alex turned to Willow with a sad smile.  
“He asked you out?” Willow asked, a little bemused. Alex nodded.  
“Yeah, that night we went out to dinner, Irene’s court case? He didn’t ask me out in so many words, he hinted at it but enough where I told him I was gay… he was the first man to ever take it well. Every other guy got insulted and-” Alex sobbed.  
“He was one of the good ones.” Brydee stated, hugging Alex.  
“God we got so drunk that night. It felt so nice, telling someone here about my sexuality. Being completely honest, Mason couldn’t have been more understanding.” Alex said between her tears. She wasn’t sure if she was happy crying or sad crying anymore, the memories had made it unclear.  
“One day Alex, you’ll laugh and smile at the memories of him. It might not be any time soon but one day, you will. Remember in the hospital? It shocked me that I managed to laugh with you about Jai, it felt so good. That doesn’t mean I won’t feel pain, I do. Everyday. But it lessens and it will get better Alex, it will.” Brydee assured her.  
“Mason would be so proud of you.” Willow spoke up, squeezing Alex. Silent tears streamed down Alex’s face now.  
“You think so?” She asked quietly.  
“Yeah, I do. He looked up to you Alex.” Willow stated.  
“Adored her more like.” Brydee teased.  
“You’d know.” Willow teased back.  
“What can I say? Alex is pretty great.” Brydee said, smirking at Willow.  
“You won’t hear an argument from me.” Willow said smiling.  
“I miss him.” Alex admitted quietly.  
“I know, I miss him too. I’d give anything to have him here, teasing us.” Willow said.  
“He’d try and scheme some plan so we’d have to get coffee or something and then you’d yell at him for meddling.” Alex said, she laughed. Willow joined her, she sighed.  
“Yeah, you’re right. Although as I remember it you were the one who defended my honour.” Willow teased.  
“What’s this now?” Brydee asked.  
“In Mason’s eagerness to show his support of our relationship he decided to gossip about it at the nurses station and I may.. Have given him a talking to.” Alex said, a guilty smirk playing on her lips.  
“He didn’t take it well.” Willow clarified.  
“I was a little hard on him and he’d gotten a bit hurt but we cleared things up. He was just wanting to support us and I bit his head off.” Alex said, shaking her head.  
“I’m sure once he got over being embarrassed he probably admired you for protecting Willow.” Brydee said,  
“Exactly.” Willow said.  
“He was the most supportive of us.” Alex stated.  
“I know my friendship with Mas was a little different to Colby and Dean but.. It just felt so natural with him. I didn’t need to explain to him he just got it.” Willow said.  
“I wish we could do something..” Alex said.  
“What do you mean?” Brydee asked.  
“He isn’t here, there’s nothing physical, usually people visit graves.” Alex said  
“He was cremated, not locally due to family.” Willow explained.  
“Oh.” Brydee said in recognition.  
“Yeah, it’s harder when you don’t have somewhere to go to grieve.” Alex said.  
“So let’s have somewhere.” Brydee said, she stood up and pulled out her phone.  
“What?” Willow asked.  
“Hear me out, Mason died protecting his patients, as a Doctor. He is a local hero, I could make a call and we could figure something out.” Brydee explained.  
“Figure something out?” Alex asked curiously.  
“Do either of you know Gina?” Brydee asked.  
“Only through everyone else.” Willow admitted.  
“Oh, the bench?” Alex asked.  
“Exactly, the bench. Roo was telling me about her when I was in hospital. They had a bench with a plaque put on the grass in front of the beach in her memory. We could do something similar for Mason?” Brydee suggested.  
“Could we really do that?” Willow asked.  
“Will it’s me, come on. Of course I can.” Brydee said.  
“I don’t even know what he would want..” Alex said mostly to herself.  
“So let’s talk about it, ask everyone who was close to him.” Brydee said. Alex looked at Willow.  
“Do you think we could?” Alex asked quietly.  
“Can’t hurt, plus it would do us good having somewhere to go, right?” Willow asked.  
“Yeah, I think I’d like that. Especially now that I’m staying here permanently. I have to face it everyday.” Alex admitted.  
“Let me make a call and get the ball running, yeah?” Brydee asked.  
“Yes, thank you.” Alex said. Willow got up and walked over to Brydee and pulled her into a hug.  
“Come here.” Willow said to Alex. Alex got up and joined them in their hug.  
“Wow, we are so gay.” Brydee joked.  
“You’ve always got to try and ruin the moment, don’t you?” Willow asked.  
“Always.” Brydee said, squeezing Willow extra hard.  
“Thank you, for everything. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to talk to you both but I got overwhelmed so I didn’t call either of you and I just-” Alex started crying again.  
“Shh, it’s okay Alex. We’ve got you.” Brydee assured her.  
“Seriously, Brydee’s right Alex, we’ve got you. We always will.” Willow said sincerely. Alex felt her heart warm and melt. She let her body fall into theirs a little bit more and tried to put in as much emotion into the embrace as she could.  
“You two are pretty amazing, you know that right?” Alex asked rhetorically. It was her way of letting them know she cared about them, without saying the word she knew would be too much at this moment.  
“Oh yeah, we are well aware.” Brydee joked.  
“You aren’t too bad yourself.” Willow joined in with the banter.  
Alex sighed. “You’re lucky I’m too exhausted to fight back.” She said, chuckling a little.  
“What I’m hearing is you agree, you’re amazing.” Brydee pointed out. Alex tried pinching her as payback but got Willow instead.  
“Ow!” Willow yelped. Brydee snickered while Alex started apologizing profusely. Willow didn’t mind though, she wouldn’t have traded this moment for the world.


End file.
